Drowners’
first album promises redux love and retro heartbreak
By Rachel Dickerman New York-based alternative, post-punk band Drowners, fronted by Welsh model Matt Hitt, released their self-titled first album January 28. The album is a clean and polished demo of thirteen short and peppy tracks, most under three minutes. Some songs encompass a grungy nouveau-punk sound with fuzzy guitar while others offer a more melancholy dreamlike aura with lyrics that lament heartbreak. Their resemblance ranges from that of The Ramones to The Cure—the urgency of the head-bangers seamlessly fuses with the delicacy of the goths. That certainly doesn’t detract from each track’s hook value—I was enamored the first time I heard them via a tumblr audio post of “You’ve Got It All Wrong” over the summer. I ate up those few singles, including “Unzip Your Harrington,” “Long Hair,” and “Shell Across the Tongue.” Each track is graced with Hitt’s dreamy Welsh crooning and downto-earth lovesickness. In the chorus of “You’ve Got It All Wrong,” Hitt sings, “And somewhere in the corner / He’s telling her a joke / And I had to stick the boot in / ’Cause that’s not how it goes.” The listener can imagine the scene playing out in a bar as the song blares from a jukebox its upbeat New Wave reminiscence. In “Unzip Your Harrington,” Hitt drones, “I’m gonna hang around / Long enough to be part of the furniture,” yet another testament to his poetic turn-ofphrase in one of the album’s mellower, slower, perfect-to-sway-to tracks. Having seen the band perform at Allston’s Great Scott in January, the live experience enhanced my opinion of the album even more. The performance allowed for more of the grittiness and noise to come through whereas the album boasts precise riffs and enunciated lyrics.
During the mic check, Hitt referenced Beyonce’s single “Flawless,” mumbling, “I woke up like dis” to test, immediately garnering the approval of those who weren’t previously familiar with the band. Their set consisted of every song on the album played in chronological order. The crowd, consisting of eager college kids, leather-clad twenty-somethings, and even dads who seemed to be comrades of the older members of the opening act, danced enthusiastically, cheered raucously before and after every song, and begged for an encore. Every song is danceable, a huge plus in my book. “Long Hair” features a hook that repeats both the lyrics and a jaunty guitar riff that eases into the chorus, while others like “A Button on
Your Blouse” utilizes guitar that holds its notes out longer with a concise and staccato drum line. Hitt’s voice has a smooth tonal quality with hints of that Welsh accent. “Ways to Phrase a Rejection” focuses more on a punchy and jangly distortion both instrumentally and lyrically. Here Hitt employs more of a crooning whine, fuzzy and washed out. Overall, the album alternates between a raw, stripped down sound of polished tunes with no synthesized effects and a rougher, dirty, high-speed whirlwind not unlike their live performance. If you get the chance, do not miss out on these talented musical babes and their leather jackets. They will make your heart melt, make your heart break, and make your heart race.
May 2014 // 43