Review: The Gluts ‘Ungrateful Heart’

A reference to Fugazi in a band’s press release or reviews gets my attention. Maybe that makes me predictable or something, I don’t know, but I’ve definitely found some gems based on that criterion while wandering aimlessly in the wilds of Bandcamp. Here’s another one – The Gluts.

The name sounds to me like a 60s garage punk band, and yes, the primal snarl of The Sonics is there, but there’s a lot more going on. To my ears, Ungrateful Heart takes post-punk as a starting point, and heads out in multiple directions from there. It’s dense and driving, and I’ll do my best to describe it.

I was pretty effectively hooked by opening track Mashilla. It starts with furious proto-punkish riffage and throaty screamed vocals, before quickly melting into an insistent kraut/space rock groove and an extended psych passage. I’m in a Slift state of mind in this section, but then the band seamlessly shifts back to the opening riff for a deft bookend. So there you have a pretty good outline of the diversity you can expect from the album. It’s a superb lead track.

You’ll enjoy this if you’re in the mood for some tough, dense rock, with flavours of post-punk, shoegaze, psych, and more…

There’s more of that space rock groove to follow in Love Me Do Again, which ebbs and flows, and ultimately builds to a roaring climax. Following this, I hear an aggressive mix of death rock and psych in Black Widow, and a plodding, sludgy tempo alternating with frantic squalling post-punk in Breath. There’s a bit of a reprieve with the dream pop of Leyla, Lazy Girl From The Moon, before more rock fury for the second half.

This end of the album in particular often reminds me of the seething doom rock of Wailin Storms, and something about the vocal melodies brings to mind the more rock-oriented bits of Firewater – a fine combination if you ask me. There’s plenty of vocals hooks you can holler along with, and FYBBD is an excellent song for punching skinheads. It all comes to a close with the thundering psych/shoegaze opus Eat Acid See God. It’s a real epic, and I’m ready for more – guess it’s time to check out their earlier works. You’ll enjoy this if you’re in the mood for some tough, dense rock, with flavours of post-punk, shoegaze, psych, and more.

Label: Fuzz Club Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram

Scribed by: Rob Bryant