Dead In A Dream
Self-Released, 2019
9/10
Few bands in the punk/alternative/grunge realm are as exciting as Castle Black. With each subsequent release- and there are many- these New Yorkers only get more interesting, more unconventional and more dynamic in their approach. Here, they offer 3 tunes on their first EP in a two part series of their evolving formula that’s both gritty and refined.
“B4 U Do The Same” starts the listen with buzzing alt-rock and moody post-punk as raw yet melodic vocals enter the equation, and “Know Me, Anyway” follows with a more serene setting of grungey sounds before building into a visceral and driving, fuzzed out, psyche-rock inspired highlight.
“Dead In A Dream” ends the quick listen strong with restrained yet soaring musicianship where power and melody are intertwined amid plenty of strategic feedback.
Much like everything this Brooklyn trio has done in recent years, Dead In A Dream is a quick, complicated, sometimes eerie, and always unpredictable display of incredible interplay between the three, as frontwoman Leigh Celent further cements her place as front and center in one of the creative outfits that exists today.
Travels well with: Sonic Youth- Dirty;Babes In Toyland- Spanking Machine