Flourishing - Intersubjectivity EP (2012)

Having released what was one of my top records for 2011 in The Sum of All Fossils, I have naturally harbored some interest in what New York's post-hardcore/death mavens Flourishing would be shoveling from the angst and ether of daily life into their next recording. This has now manifest in a 3-track, 20 minute EP which further defines the more oppressive side of the band, coming both as a refreshing arbiter of consistency, but perhaps also a mild disappointment for one such as myself so embroiled in the delicious dichotomy of grace and savagery from the full-length. Not to say that this isn't still pretty sick and engrossing, or that the trio's creativity has undergone any substantial sense of distillation, but much of the material here is focused on the pounding, dissonant narratives that represented slightly over half of that debut.

Think The Sum of All Fossils if it were sent through a junkyard compactor and fused with all manner of filthy, industrial waste, and you've got a reasonable estimation of where the sounds of Intersubjectivity lie. The guitar patterns are largely built around massive, clamorous repetitions of chords which are flooded with the swill of repulsive, oozing bass lines. Once again, I find myself at odds with exactly how to accurately pin the band's influences. Treponem Pal meets Coalesce at a Zeni Geva gig? Voivod serenading Today is the Day by way of Godflesh? Half the Hydra Head roster fused through a fruit juicer? But I think much the beauty in the New Yorkers' style is how they manage to converge and contain such varied aesthetics into a bruising, ugly, corpulent release while retaining a strict level of artistry and self-identity. There are moments throughout this EP where I felt like they'd transformed into this novel industrial noise rock unit who have eschewed programmed beats and synthesizers who create an analogue of sense of urban decay (particularly in the opening volley to "A Living Sundial"), and this time out there's far less of the debut's unexpected warmth and humanity to balance out the Herculean pounding of the bass, the nauseating certainty of the riff torrents and the bloodied discomfort of Garrett Bussanick's vocals.

Of course, it's those same grisly growls which provide the trio's most apparent tether to the death metal genre that inspired them. The guitars will often bear a passing semblance to the chaos inherent in a Portal,  Ulcerate, or Gorguts' Obscura, but very little reminiscent of traditional death metal tremolo riffs or breakdowns that haven't at least been deconstructed into the music's abrasive, rusted turmoil. Highlights of the tunes often arrive when Bussanick emits his spurious leads and wailing disharmony, particularly in "The Petrifaction Lottery" or the titular, 8 minute closer. These aren't quite so catchy as some of the passages on The Sum of All Fossils, but when the chords disappear and you hear them ringing out over the floodlight bass barrage in "Intersubjectivity", you still get that same sense of suffering and alienation which hit at a deeper level than just the pounding of the rhythm guitars elsewhere. Brian Corcoran's drums were of particular interest here, shifting between callous, concrete weirdo blasts, fills and even a jazzier backdrop to the more spatial segues from the dominant, churning chassis of the compositions.

Be warned: Flourishing is so loud and raw here that you're apt to receive a headache competitive with staking a sharpened PVC pipe through one ear and out the other, then flushing your brain with bolts, nails and screws. All instruments are audible and dynamic, but there's plenty of feedback redolent of the angrier post-hardcore coming out of the late 90s, and to be honest this lends a certain authenticity to the natural entropy of the riffs. Madness and confusion are manifest, even legion, but there's never a sense that the New Yorkers aren't in complete control of the proceedings. It might not stack up to its predecessor in terms of how sticky the songs become, even after repeated listens, and it's probably best that they were contained here rather than on the ensuing full-length. That said, through, Flourishing and Intersubjectivity are still worthwhile for those in search of a distinct, unnerving darkness that functions through its own set of rules rather than adhering to any particular status quo of extremity. Nuanced, agonizing and unquestionably ambitious.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.facebook.com/flourishingnyc

Flourishing - The Sum of All Fossils (2011)

Albums like The Sum of All Fossils might only come around rarely, but they're the primary reason I meticulously scour message boards and blogs for recommendations and obscurities each year. Without such, I might never have heard of Flourishing or experienced what has easily escalated into one of my favorite metallic efforts of late. The Sum of All Fossils might not be 'entirely' a metal album, to be sure, but what's so marvelous about this New York trio is its ability to mash up dissonant post-punk and post-hardcore guitars with the excitement, intensity and vocals of the death metal genre and not come off as pretentious, snotty or even remotely 'cool'. I mean that as the highest compliment, of course, because for all this band's humble presentation and execution, they've got one of the tightest, freshest and most engrossing sounds on the East Coast.

If I told you this was like the bastard child of classic Immolation and Fugazi, you might not believe me, and yet I feel compelled to describe it as just that. The gutturals of guitarist Garrett Bussanick have a bit of Pestilence/Asphyx titan Martin van Drunen appeal to them, broad and bloodied and capable of driven, hostile emotions amidst the carnage, well suited to the copious and roiling guitar tone. Curiously, the more aggressive guitars of the album don't immediately come off as all that unique or inspired, but it's how they interact with the warmer, melodic textures throughout the album that has completely won me over. Thudding, distorted bass lines are wrought against the leaden density of the guitars, while the drums are capable of a dynamic range of double bass, blasting and whatever suits the more atmospheric passages that speckle the album's gritty, urban landscape.

Not a track goes by with out some brilliant, beautiful and frankly unexpected burst of warmth and fluid melody that reflects the band's indie/noise rock and post-hardcore influences, and thus a precarious bond is made with the listener. You know that 'money shot' riff is coming (or more than one), you just don't know when, but for eight tracks and 44 minutes, I can promise you that Flourishing does not fail to earn its keep. In "The Prospects of Rejection", it's that bombing, bass tone that cedes to the groove of the drums at the intro, or the melodic chugs around the 4 minute mark that lead to the trilling higher notes. In "By Which We're Cemented", it's the sparse harmonic notes that writhe atop the pump of the bass while the band barks out a cleaner, more angst-filled vocal style. In "Fossil Record", perhaps my favorite of the album's many highlights, it can be found in the airy, shoegazing abstraction in the bridge and the subsequent rock riff that sounds staggering under the brutal gutturals.

But if you're worried that my description of this album makes it seem too 'pretty', then I must assure you that is not the case. Flourishing will beat the living spirit out of your limbs with its percussive, corpulent textures and then use its more tranquil, resonant passages to sweep up the chunks of inanimate bone and marrow that remain. The lyrics are written in that emotional, matter of fact narrative abstraction I often equate with post-hardcore or artsy metalcore bands (Converge, Trap Them, etc), but they're an amazingly congruent and effective partner to the composition and pacing of the record. Ultimately, if you've been searching out something new and profound in metal, and you're not averse to the exterior influences I've mentioned here, then The Sum of All Fossils is the one you've been awaiting. I'm struggling to even come up with accurate contemporary comparisons. Bands like Castevet, Krallice and Ulcerate certainly bring a similar range to the table, but this album reduces their collective output to cinders before the smoke from the first track clears. The Sum of All Fossils might not look like much, but... Oh hell, yes it does. Just check it out.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.75/10] (rotting dialog exhausts me)

http://www.myspace.com/flourishing