EP Review: Agvirre – _ _ _ _ _ _ (Through Love Rec./Surviving Sounds/Trepanation Recordings)

Manchester, UK based blackened post-rock collective Agvirre present their second record. _ _ _ _ _ _ expands upon their debut Silence, musically and thematically, pushing further into stream of consciousness and existentialist writing methods as their lengthy compositions wander dreamily through a non-linear melting pot of different genre influences.

Whilst Silence was a harrowing and unflinching exploration of living with mental illness on a personal level, _ _ _ _ _ _ looks at how our struggles with mental health affect us in a wider social context; magnified through the overwhelming lens of pandemic times, lockdowns, isolation, political unrest, social division and the horrors of police brutality and systematic racism.

_ _ _ _ _ _ will be released on January 28th 2022 by Through Love Rec. (EU – vinyl), Surviving Sounds (UK – vinyl) and Trepanation Recordings (CD & Tape).

The soft melody that introduces Urtica in Glass is interrupted by a police recording taken from a viral video of a black man having a gun drawn on him by a white police officer. The man in question was picking up trash around his home and accused of trespassing before the police officer saw the ‘picker’ as a weapon. It’s a video that doesn’t make for pretty viewing and it underlines the topic of social injustice that permeates throughout this record.

Agvirre have stuff they want to get off their chest and express it on this track with a scorching blast of extreme noise. Layered with post-melody and influential genre-blending, it’s a hammering start from the instruments, all while the vocals scream and roar with such intensity. It’s a constant and consistent blast that features some fascinating tonal shifts. One such section, led by an incredible rolling drum beat, hits almost cinematic highs, before dropping into wonderful post-heavy melody. This one track alone makes this a 10/10 release.

Yet there are still two more to come.

Up first is _ _ _ _ _ _ (In Plain Sight), a short but very discomforting and dissonant track of airy melody. The distorted and slowed down police injustice recording makes things so much darker though. As that dissipates, we’re left with powerful and heartfelt post-melody that then leads us into the finale of For El Dorado, Whenever I May Find You.

Can you believe it? It is another absolute belter. A track capable of causing tears to run down your face while systematically delivering incredible levels of savagery. The level of musicianship involved in crafting a track, hell, a release this good is simply staggering. The only possible complaint is that it’s over far too soon. We just get 3 tracks here with around 23-minutes of music.

…but what music it is. Do any more words need to be said? Miss listening to this and you will miss out on hearing what is likely to be the best thing you’ll hear all year. Bold words to say to in January but such is the brilliance of _ _ _ _ _ _ that it can be said with confidence.

Agvirre – _ _ _ _ _ _ Full Track Listing:

1. Urtica in Glass
2. _ _ _ _ _ _ (In Plain Sight)
3. For El Dorado, Whenever I May Find You

Links

Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Surviving Sounds | Trepanation Recordings