Style: alternative (clean vocals)
Review by: Josh
Country: France
Release date: 04-08-2020
Often what we see in the progosphere are albums filled with songs that are far too long for their own good. Watertank buck that trend out of the stratosphere.
I can’t say anything about this album without first covering the songwriting. These guys know how to do a lot with a little. No song gets close to overstaying its welcome, with some tracks just being built around a single riff. This allows the album to be concise without losing depth, as each song can present, develop and conclude upon a complete idea in as little as two minutes. At the same time, though, the album remains cohesive as while the band does dip their fingers into a variety of styles of music, they never get too adventurous, putting quality songwriting over getting wacky. This makes for an excellent listening experience, as nothing ever drags.
At the same time, though, while songs tend to be short, they’re never too short. None of them (except “Thing Of The Past,” god dammit why did they cut the track right as it was about to hit its peak) fail to feel complete, as despite their lengths, Watertank manage to pack a lot into each one. While there may not be that many riffs, almost every one is quality. They range in genre from alt rock to grunge to post-hardcore to shoegaze, and many experiment with odd time signatures as well. Nothing too crazy, 6 and 4+4+4+2 are the ones I recall off of the top of my head, but they really add to the sound, a sound that would normally feel dated. The band is great at supporting the riffs, too. I have to single out the bassist in particular here, as they’re very present throughout the entire album, playing a role not often heard within our scene. The drummer’s also excellent at picking the right groove for each moment of the song.
As for the core sound of the album, it’s not anything too crazy. It’s riff-driven, sometimes stonery alt rock with added spiciness for the most part. There are some noisy bits, there are some odd time signatures, but at its core, that’s it. It’s well-played, but many readers of this blog simply won’t be into it because of that. Some of the non-riff-driven sections also have a tendency to fall flat, though given how concise most songs are, these sections never last for that long.
Overall though, Silent Running’s one of the better albums I’ve heard this year. It gets in, does its thing, gets out, and repeats. No bullshit, and everything’s smooth like butter.
Recommended tracks: Spiritless, Building World, Cryptobiosis
Recommended for fans of: Torche, Silversun Pickups, Queens of the Stone Age
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | RateYourMusic
Label: WPW Records
Watertank is:
-Romain Donet (guitars)
-Jocelyn Liorzou (drums)
-Willy Etié (bass)
-Thomas Boutet (vocals, guitars)
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