Blurred Wires

Underground lifer Nick Sakes returns on the debut LP from Upright Forms. The tight-knit Minneapolis trio feels like the culmination of Sakes' varied and prolific career to date, bringing together the unhinged prog-punk ferocity of Dazzling Killmen & Colossamite with the careening chaos of Xaddax and the shout-along hooks and dynamic songcraft of Sicbay. Blurred Wires is skewed yet tuneful, challenging yet compulsively listenable, concise yet brimming with invention. The experience of a lifetime distilled to 33 rotations across a gripping 33 minutes. Consider They Kept on Living, a song that first appeared in an earlier version on the SKiN GRAFT comp Sounds to Make You Shudder!. It starts off with a grinding 7/4 groove, with cryptic lines over scratchy noise-punk chords. After a brief build, the band explodes into a massive chorus, with Sakes shouting the title line against a fist-pumping riff. The trio sound equally convincing digging into the pummeling aggression of My Lower Self, where Sakes vocals start off as a feral snarl and then soar triumphantly during the chorus, or the soothing indie-pop hush of the Paster-penned Drive at Night. Various tug-at-your-heartstrings touchstones informed Long Shadow. Sakes channeled Television Personalities, cult heroes of melodic British post-punk, on Animositine, which he accurately labels our prettiest song. Nearly 35 years into his career, Sakes is finding new ways to challenge himself and in Paster and Westphal, hes found two

Tracks

1~1~01 - Heaven Knows
1~2~02 - My Lower Self
1~3~03 - Drive At Night
1~4~04 - They Kept On Living
1~5~05 - Long Shadow
1~6~06 - Chopped Even
1~7~07 - Animositine
1~8~08 - Regular Multiplier
1~9~09 - Biology Of Time
1~10~10 - Mission

Details

Catalogue Number: CD-GRA-158
Format: CD
Artist: Upright Forms
Release Date: 28 June 2024
Genre: Acoustic / Instrumental
Label: SKiN GRAFT Records
Distributor: MGM Music