BL§§D OU† – 3MPIR3 §†Å†3 (2011) [AMDISCS] // Grade: A-

You know, sometimes BL§§D ØU† isn’t all that blissed out. Take “§PNNR§”, the schizophrenia of it, all those toms cascading around on 16th notes, that hell-growl bass; the only thing remotely blissful about the track is that it does, at some point, end—but then, that’s even worse. Not blissful at all, ‘cause did you hear that song? Total kaleidoscope of fucked up and aggressive and amazing. Once it’s over, the absence deafens.

And maybe loads of witch house, amazing or not, is describable in similar terms, but listen: BL§§D ØU† plays it different. First full-length 3MPIR3 §†Å†3 is so much more than the band’s namesake, or their shunning of it; it’s a full-on aural ride through the scum and glitter of any Gotham, skrewed production jammed against stuff straight out of Fairmont or the Field. Tracks like “ÅMB3R ÅL3R†” and “†DF” feel warm and cavernous, rounds of hollow sound hopscotching from crystalline to creepy. And “†RÅP HØUS3” channels the best of both worlds: cymbals opening like a seizure, drums like drills through your temples, before the whole thing settles into one of the catchiest, most laid-back synth hooks of the entire album, or the entire year. You choose.

But among  3MPIR3 §†Å†3′s most captivating moments is how they take it out. Closer “//MYR†L3//WYCKØFF//” comes in on a stampede, this ominous and militaristic ambient beat, slowly going more aggressive, more intense, more locked in, until you’re suddenly spinning in BL§§D ØU†’s kaleidoscopic nightmare of a world without even realizing it. And once it’s over, like “§PNNR§” before it, the silence shocks. Go back to the start and listen all over. Find your bliss in all their intensity. Really, it’s the only way.

Pre-Order BL§§D OU†’s 3MPIR3 §†Å†3 Here Now!

- Rue Sauvage