Review: Blessure Grave – Judged by 12, Carried by 6
Blessure Grave - Judged by 12, Carried by 6 (2009) [Release the Bats] // Grade: A
2009: year of the old-school goth? Seems everyone these days is unashamedly reclaiming their goth roots and really, thank god for it; without the likes of Sacred Bones and Captured Tracks helping to usher in a new day of darker-than-dark releases, we might’ve been stuck in that cheesy post-industrial meets candy-raver purgatory forever. And though Cold Cave is arguably at the forefront of the whole thing (thanks in part to Matador giving them a go), San Diego duo Blessure Grave is far and away the most promising of the bunch.
But Blessure Grave’s latest—and by far my favorite, despite the amazing Learn To Love The Rope EP—can’t be reduced to sheer revivalism; this is an album far more intricate than that. Sure, it harkens back to Play Dead, Bauhaus and even early Front 242 in equal measure, but at the heart of Judged By 12, Carried By 6 is that undefinable thing, a mystifying X factor: it just gets you. Judged isn’t great because it takes a cue from Red Lorry Yellow Lorry; it’s great because the songs are evocative and dramatic. Because there’s something in the sweet sadness of “In The First Place” and its strained guitar, or the frantic layers of melody on “Stop Breathing”, that feels like a punch in the face. Like the first time you heard Unknown Pleasures and wondered how anything could be so miserably lovely.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Blessure Grave is primed to be the next Joy Division—such a distinction barely exists anyway—or that Judged will necessarily be the album that catapults them into the throngs. But if their momentum thus far is any indication (and really, the songs just get better and better), Blessure Grave is headed for a long run of beautifully stark releases—as well as a much-deserved place at the top of this nouveau-goth heap.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:11 am
When I first read this I thought it was another East Flatbush Project thing. Kind of bummed initially, but intrigued once I read the post.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:55 am
This is such an effin’ good album that get’s better each listen. I’m sure some are just going to hear some immediate Ian Curtis comparison’s but there’s just so much more here. The guitars sound is absolutely beautiful and Reyna’s background vocals just add for a great secondary dynamic.
On a side note: We had Blessure Grave’s “Water” as the lead song on our splash page all through fall and received a slew of emails every week asking who it was. Hopefully that’s a good indication that people really want and are ready for some nouveau-goth.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:02 am
need this.
December 1st, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Glad I won’t have to answer questions from the manager about this review!
December 1st, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Those of you emailing and asking where you can get this, I believe it’s out on vinyl later this or next week.
December 1st, 2009 at 9:00 pm
its not bad but it just sounds like the gothish interpol to me. W.A.S.T.E. and To Mega Therion are much better southern cali bands of a similar genre imo.
December 1st, 2009 at 10:10 pm
Wait let me get this straight… This is the band you’re trying to champion as the superior band of the same style? How are the two even remotely similar?
December 1st, 2009 at 10:19 pm
biz1904 this is the blog for Mishka NYC not Tripp NYC
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Granted I’ve only lived in San Diego for a year and a half but I never knew this To Mega Therion band existed. Apparently we (Blessure Grave) have been lumped into the moon boot wearing, face paint and fishnet scene that’s commonly confused as “goth”. We’ve finally made it!
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:17 pm
^they should open for you. Not joking.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I actually listened to their Myspace tracks, they’re not as bad as they’re image makes them look. Some tracks just sound like your standard cookie-cutter vinyl fetish industrial shit that killed the scene in the 90s, but they have some more interesting instrumental pieces.
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Thank god for this band, my blood can finally run cold again.
December 5th, 2009 at 9:53 am
FACE-PAINT & FISHNET SCENE.
I fucking love it.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:31 am
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