When it comes to The Funeral and TheTwilight, every descriptor that comes to mind feels as if it should
sit within quotation marks: "goth," "punk,"
"metal," "sludgy," "gloomy," ... Not in
a negative way or as some dismissive commentary but to illustrate the
disparity and strangeness of their music. I think the closest I ever
came was "death doom jazz," because that phrase makes
almost no sense at all.
My first encounters with TFATT were The
Cross of St. Peter and Sullen Life /// Blighted Death. On first
listen, I wasn't sure what I was hearing, but I knew I liked it.
Something about it kept pulling me back in, and I thank Colin Johnson
for the wink and "Yeah, bro. Let it hit ya" nudge. One
night of wine paired with the records completely hooked me, and I
haven't questioned the journey since.
Not everything we enjoy can be
distilled down to something tangible, and I'm happier for that.
There's definitely a bewitching and haunting feel to TFATT's music
that plods its way through enormous tones and shattering vocals. Plod
doesn't quite work though, as each song is awash in sultry,
unexpected changes and surprising experimental moments that keep each
song hanging by a thread. At the moment it feels like it might
unravel, there's the occasional hook that somehow incorporates a
poppiness or sinks into a oddly familiar groove. They're as
challenging as they are mesmerizing. Bring all this to the stage, and
TFATT is right where they need to be. Benjamin, Noah, and Brandon are
a chaotic tidal wave of activity that's somehow synchronized or
ritualized. The sound is penetrating with its woeful swagger,
twisting and turning and never letting you go. Beautiful in their
execution, once you think you've got a grasp on where the songs are
going, TFATT will throw in a few grindcore bursts to suck you in
further.
TFATT and Dead are touring together
this summer, and we couldn't think of two better bands to represent
both the diversity and the similarity of bands who have graced the
Total Fest stages over the years.
"Let it hit ya"
