Memory Lane
Pias, 2022
10/10
A trio from Belgium who have a history in playing in bands like Melting Time and Laguna, Lukas Van Camp (bass), Tomas Serrien (drums) and Niels Elsermans (vocals, guitar) play some incredible and intense music on this first album as Disorientations, where nods to the melancholic punk of the ‘80s is front and center.
“Wandering” starts the listen with some dense atmosphere, where thick bass and crashing drums lead into throbbing post punk that’s quite noisey but also retains melody under the tension, and “Words” follows with some New Wave traces under the bristling alt-rock.
“Allied” lands in the middle and presents a hypnotic landscape that pushes and pulls with jagged, angular instrumentation, while “Waiting For” sounds indebted to ‘80s post-punk and goth-rock in the best ways that are both ominous and tuneful.
“Close To Disappearing” and “Zinfandel” exit the listen, where the former and album highlight is full of energetic and dynamic songwriting that charges with hooks, and the latter recruits crisp drumming and melodic guitar that builds into a furious wall of sonic noise that’s stunningly raw.
A raging affair that’s all at once haunting, rhythmic and unrelenting in its powerful and booming execution, this just might be the best album of 2022.
Travels well with: Teen Creeps- Forever; Editors- The Weight Of Your Love