Meat Wave
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Meat Wave

Chicago, IL | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | INDIE

Chicago, IL | INDIE
Established on Jan, 2016
Band Alternative Punk

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Meat Wave: Delusion Moon review – slashing riffs and silvery melody from outstanding Chicago punk trio"

That name might suggest some kind of schlocky, funtime party punks, but this Chicago trio are something a bit smarter and sleeker than that: their debut album proper (after two excellent EPs) is an almighty rush of slashing riffs and silvery melody that sits neatly alongside their Midwestern post-hardcore peers of yore, but tweaks the stylistic dials in ways that make for a genuinely outstanding record. The arrangements hit a rare sweet spot between tricksy dissonance and damn’n’blast directness: drummer Ryan Wizniak’s accents and details are subtle and compact, but applied with warhammer force; bassist Joe Gac throws in passing notes that make singer/guitarist Chris Sutter’s ingenious chord changes all the more gut-punching. But it is Sutter’s singing that really elevates things, a boyish yelp given to unexpected leaps and bounds, wrapping elaborate, gorgeous melody lines around his riffs – at times like a punked up, 200mph equivalent of Built to Spill or the War on Drugs’ epic, big sky hooks. One of 2015’s most addictive, pulse-racing noisy joys. - The Guardian


"Meat Wave - Delusion Moon (2015)"

The cover art of Meat Wave’s Delusion Moon is an homage/parody of Pink Floyd’s classic Dark Side of the Moon prism iconography -- a beam of light penetrates the spherical shape of a moon, but rather than color escaping in a vibrant rainbow, the beam ricochets about its core like a misfired bullet and drizzles from the orb’s floor in multi-colored icicles. This imagery is where Meat Wave and Pink Floyd’s similarities end; the Wave play with a sneering viciousness those dope smoking English longhairs could never muster.

Meat Wave have snarled their way into hearts and minds across the Chicago punk rock scene in a relatively short period of time, sounding like a more melodic Hot Snakes cross-bred with the amped up vigor of the Marked Men, all while harboring the brooding attitude of Steve Albini-esque noise-punk. On their SideOneDummy debut, Meat Wave live up to the potential they’ve exhibited to this point, and deliver in Delusion Moon a memorably sinister heaping of punk rock.

Tension permeates the album, as essential to Meat Wave’s sound as any instrument. Album opener “Delusion Moon” is one long build-up, drummer Ryan Wizniak pounding on the drums methodically as Sutter hollers the album’s mantra, amping the intensity to a boiling point. Lesser bands would blast into a punk drum beat halfway through the song -- Meat Wave stick with this taut intensity to the song’s end. ”I never meant to throw your computer out the window,” Chris Sutter sings on album stand-out “Witchcraft”, a notably perplexing and absurd line. A recurring theme of mental illness flows throughout Delusion Moon, painting in broad strokes the nature of madness. Meat Wave’s ability to manipulate the listener’s blood pressure with the intensity of their music is only amplified by this theme. “Sunlight” (which appeared previously alongside “Sham King” on this year’s Brother EP) serves as not only the best song on the album, but as a prime example of Meat Wave’s mastery of tension-building. It begins subdued, builds to a crescendo of crashing symbols, crackling guitars, and almost-but-not-quite shrill hollering, before slowly fizzling out in a grumble of bass. Its rise and fall plays out like a ride, and demands many a listen.

The latter half of the album is where some of the best tracks reside, including “Erased” and the punch-in-the-face energy of “NRA”. A bouncy, mischievous bass line highlights closer “The Gay Contempt”, and brings Delusion Moon to a satisfyingly haunting end. Much of the mood that Meat Wave conjures would possibly be stifling were it not for the pure energy brought to their musicianship. They keep their sound kinetic enough to counterbalance the heavy, and in turn inhabit a fresh sound entirely their own.

With Delusion Moon, Meat Wave have created a batch of punk rock songs both uniquely suspenseful and crawling with creepy energy. It is also one of the year’s most engaging punk rock albums. - Punknews.org


"Meat Wave - Delusion Moon (Exclaim review)"

Meat Wave deliver their strongest work to date on Delusion Moon, an album on which dissonance meets velocity, conveying the madness of modern times through skilful crashes, bangs and booms while carrying a tune. The band maintain their blistering post-hardcore here, but add a bit more range.

The title track is a thick, dreamy wall of sound that waxes and wanes, never breaking, a Doughboys-esque track that stands in stark contrast to the others here. The messy, clanging dissonance and rumbling bass on "Network" brings Die! Die! Die! and Hot Snakes to mind, and these vibes run strongly throughout, especially on the relentless strumming and racing breakdowns of "Vacation" and "NRA." Though the vocals sometimes evoke NOFX back in their prime, this isn't pop punk. The songs are more interesting and less formulaic, akin to the approaches of Q and Not U and No Knife.

The galloping, triumphant "I Was Wrong" is so forceful it might bust your speakers, "Cosmic Zoo" nods to post-punk and the moving "Reunion" is tender and melodic yet pummelling. It's "Sinkhole" that best showcases the band's leaps forward on this record, demonstrating self-assurance, dynamics and clarity of purpose. (Side One Dummy) - Exclaim


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