Album Review: Wolves Like Us – Brittle Bones (Pelagic Records)

After 5 years on hiatus, Wolves Like Us will be releasing their 4th album titled Brittle Bones on October 25th via Pelagic Records.

There was less tension this time, we almost didn’t argue at all – which is rare for us, says drummer Jonas Thire. A lot has happened to us at a personal level. Positives, like we all have kids now. But dark shit too. There’s been a divorce. Lars has been really sick. He wrote the lyrics as a kind of diary to deal with issues like abuse, literally and figuratively.

Take a bow, Wolves Like Us. As returns go…and we’ve seen a few this year all ready, this might be the most accomplished one yet. Five years on hiatus can go one of two ways if seems. Either you return like a house on fire cause you’ve got new stuff to say or you come back because you’ve got nothing else to say.

Thankfully it’s the former with this exciting post-hardcore/punk-metal band. The house isn’t the only thing on fire. The flames are spreading well and truly up and down the street and before long the whole city is going up.

Nailing the opening with the energetic and free-sounding spirit of Stand Up to Get Down, its Stay Cold that really gets an eyebrow raised. Why? ‘Cause its rawness hides a really layered track filled with great riffs, some clever melodies and a certain kind of catchiness that only a band on this form could pull off.

Property of Dortmund might have a few people glancing towards the likes of Baronness and there is no denying there’s a familiar kind of harmonious beat to it. I Can’t Love You Wild Enough has a heavier guitar rhythm and the vocals have a tad more snark about them. Winter Chains is peppy in places, enough to grab the attention and hold it long after it might have waned.

That aside, Brittle Bones continues to be a stellar listen as the second half gets going with Oil Money. A frantic and more intense listen, this is Wolves Like Us going that little heavier for even more impact.

Ash Wednesday then delivers a masterclass of guitar work, the complexities of what is heard here matching up perfectly to what is becoming a deepening obsession with Wolves Like Us. How can you not be obsessed when the chunky groove of Devil Stare, Part Two rings out? Or the killer guitar hooks and the dab of brief mellowness that are part of On the Low arrive?

Plastic On the Fire ends Brittle Bones with a bit more fire, the chorus sending shockwaves through the body. A classy, moody but very effective closer to an album that keeps on giving the further along you go with it.

Wolves Like Us – Brittle Bones Full Track Listing:

1. Stand Up to Get Down
2. Stay Cold
3. Property of Dortmund
4. I Can’t Love You Wild Enough
5. Winter Chains
6. Oil Money
7. Ash Wednesday
8. Devil Stare, Part Two
9. On the Low
10. Plastic On the Fire

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