Stillhound’s debut album Bury Everything is a pulsating and lively piece of work that gets more intriguing the more of it you hear.
Its pop, sure, and synth pop at that, though the band refuse at any point to shy away from that as a label, wearing it unapologetically, if not with a certain pride.
It is worth saying that this is not an unconsidered record, it is made with all the endeavour of craftsmen; every note is the place it ought to be.
There is a scarcity to the music, though this is by no means a criticism; it is as efficient as a butcher’s knife, and you, the listener, get no unnecessary fat.
Indeed, to focus on this denies the sheer joyous rhythm of many of the tracks; ‘Time Enough for Love’ is a particular highlight in this regard, the kind of song walking to on a sunny day would be an almost transcendental experience.
The early tracks on Bury Everything are propelled along by the levity of a frenetic synth-based madness, though the album steadily gets darker, which is most welcome, for in those first three tracks there is a tangible danger that it could devolve into merely a ‘nice’ album.
Take for example the disembodied half-voices on ‘Think This Way,’ or the ethereal chorus of ‘Shy;’ the impositions of these moments of unease onto apparently summery melodies only increases their underlying eeriness, much like having a nightmare at your grandmother’s house.
Thus the album feels cohesive, a journey of sorts, albeit not always a happy one, and yet there is always some unerring beat, percussive yet electronic, to pull you from the miasma of the dreamlike vocals.
‘When Ghosts Get Angry’ becomes almost savage; a tip of the hat to more uninhibited forms of dance music, though never explicit enough to feel out of place.
The experience of listening to the first track on the album, ‘Spring Conscious,’ and the last, also titled ‘Bury Everything’, is so different that you could quite legitimately claim that they were the product of two different artists.
Here lies the true achievement of Stillhound on Bury Everything; pulling together the disparate influences and sounds of the album and creating something satisfying to listen to, but will also take the listener to unexpected places, stop them dead, and burrow under their skin.
Words: Os Wright
