- If the ritualistic pig slaughter donning its cover isn’t enough to scare you away, Grave Babies’s Crusher record is worth a spin. With lush electronics weaving their way through Jesus and Mary Chain style drone and drawl in the guitar work and vocals, respectively, this album proves itself to be equally stunning as it is punitive.
Blankly optimistic, leading man Danny Wahfeldt pens bleak song titles such as ‘Skulls’, ‘Blood On The Face’, ‘Death Mask’, ‘Slaughter’ and ‘Haunted’ which could easily slot the album into the scare tactic metal end of the musical spectrum upon a quick glance. But with songs that play out like a kind of awkward, outsiders choir fit with deep synth lines and dragging harmonies, the album is surprisingly endearing and simply captivating at the best of moments.
One of these special moments pops up on ‘Count Cuts’ where speedy drum machines, Joy Division ready guitar riffs matched with ghostly lo-fi, ritualistic chants echo. The sound of Grave Babies is hard to pin down, imagine a pulsating Southern Hip Hop backbeat, a Jesus and Mary Chain B-Side and cult-like conviction and you’re half the way there. Track 2, ‘Over and Under Ground’ only needs to repeat a maximum of ten words to provide a fleshed out narrative of intensified agony and lost hope.
That song in particular is a textbook display of Wahfeldt’s finely tuned ability to provide a dimly lit, claustrophobic environment that can be distressing but still comforting as his low octave bellows of ‘you run like you hold me, over and under the ground’ mask any semblance of fear or heartbreak with a meaty, manly façade.
There’s no doubt that the package provided by these Seattle natives is one designed to be disparate and isolating. But there’s also no doubt that there’s a treasure trove of ability and promise capable of being bred from such a dank environment, that of which pulls Grave Babies from 6 feet under and up to higher ground.

- Lizzie Irwin.