Bandcamp | GER | DL/LP | 2018

Pigeon: Pigeon DL/LP [2018]

1. /
2. Gaping
3. Couches
4. Ex Pressure
5. Step
6. Nizza
7. Tiny
8. Rail
9. Lower
10. Kinn
11. Plunge

This turned up in my inbox a little while back and anyone who enjoys the bold Post-Punk sound we love will find a lot to love here. The band lob grenades at us right from the beginning with the harsh burst of noise that was “/.” The pummeling backwards noise track throws a challenging gauntlet, but before we know what hit us, the 0:23 track exits and the stage was set for “Gaping” to establish that while the band is not afraid of noise, they are about so much more.

The metronomic beat and hard textures of the guitars set sail for the stormy seas of Killing Joke territory. Then “Couches” painted a portrait of widescreen speed noise with its stuttering rhythms and thrilling propulsive qualities. The vocals were in English but the voice was set deep within the layers of music, not atop it like some hood ornament. The voice here was an overall part of the monolithic gestalt; not an end in itself.

“Ex Pressure” turned up the heat with its lurching rhythms echoing a darker, early Psychedelic Furs vibe but as the song played out, it reached a pummeling climax that left The Furs far behind. Then with “Nizza” the background levels of abrasion throttled back to allow the melodic sensibilities of the band a chance to leave the shade. Through it all, the band kept the tension slowly increasing vis the open chords and simple, steady beat. The middle eight found tendrils of aggression bursting through the soil as the dub inflected vocal treatment. The lovely feedback of the guitar took center stage in the outro here.

The band dipped deeper into the Krautrock pool with the motorik drums of “Tiny.” The band really end the album on a similar high point as they had reached earlier on “Couches.” “Kinn” strikes an impressive balancing act between the tripartite influences of Killing Joke, PiL, and Gang of Four – forging a striking Dub/Punk/Krautrock alliance that let the bass pull out of the cloud of sound to come to the forefront here. The sound was glorious, then with another of the brief noise interludes that flit through the album, it was all over.

Pigeon have crafted an impressive excursion into the heart of Post-Punk that shows they have learned much from the masters. The guitars and drums lead the way here with voice just another layer in the dense sound. The band have a great grasp of dynamics and instinctively know when to pull back and luxuriate in their melodic sense, or to push the pedal of intense noise that is always present for direct impact. I liked the brief interludes of noise and voice over [“Step”] that shook up the vibe and kept the listener alert for the shifts of tone that happened throughout. Pigeon have a debut album to be proud of and you may add it to your personal Record Cell with the DL or LP pressing at their Bandcamp page.

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