Bronson Arm Album Review
By Juan Gaviria
Album Review:
Bronson Arm - Bronson Arm
Light/Decent 7
Bronson Arm is a noise rock outfit consisting of Blake F. Bickel on guitar/vox and Garrett M. Yates on drums. The duo has just recently put out their debut full-length on January 12, 2024, courtesy of Learning Curve Records. This is a release that really grabbed my attention as they always deliver in their live performances. The most memorable experience I have seeing them will forever be from the Glowhouse on September 24, 2021, which involved a fed-up neighbor walking right up to Bickel, pooch in cradled arms, pleading for the volume to be turned down. Alas, her shouts were nothing short of drowned and lost in the waves of sonic abrasion.
The album starts out with the swirling and pummeling opener, “Pleasure Brea”, plunging you headfirst into the brutal noise the band has been making waves with here in town. As the feedback settles in the end, we lead right along into “Hard Pass” which eases the pace up a bit in the beginning, but not with lacking a pummeling groove courtesy of Yates before we get to the unrelenting “Tedious Company”. “Conscious Confuser” has this back-and-forth tug-of-war groove featuring some vocals that remind me of some alt-metal a la Deftones or maybe even Soundgarden. We then close out the first half with “His Ilk” which isn’t one of my favorites on here. The riff and structure just feels a bit too one-note with the built up payoffs not being as rewarding as I’d like them to be.
The second half opens up with a swift series of punches to the face, titled “Drain the Coffers”, being the shortest track on the record, and so far my favorite. “One With The Floor” follows suit keeping the newly-set momentum, accentuated with some truly haunting and dissonant riffs that ring out in between verses. The second shortest track on here, “Patsy Ultima”, packs a quick punch right after, before we get to “Rabbit Starvation”. A driving beat keeps steady time during the first half, building up to a brief moment of bliss before we are greeted by a soaring guitar lead. The strength of this track I’m led to believe is helped by the presence of local musician Ike Turner who adds a great deal of energy to this track. The closer, “The Devil You Know” is a powerful closer, with the duo sounding like they’re creating the sonic equivalent of a city being destroyed in a brutal and fiery fashion, only made more sinister by the presence of Disco Behemoth’s echoing trumpet, and Aaron Marko’s spoken vocal on here. It’s an incredibly powerful closer to the record.
Although the first half of this album for me lacked a bit in the versatility and dynamics departments, the second half comes through with a truly visceral energy that lives up to the reputation Bronson Arm continues to hold as being one of Kalamazoo’s most important local acts, especially for those who like their music on the more abrasive side of things. If you consider yourself a fan of post-hardcore, noise rock, maybe even sludge metal, give this a shot.
And of course, the thoughts and opinions expressed herein are strictly my own. Please don’t take my word as gospel. I encourage you to listen to the music mentioned herein this review for yourself and form your own opinions. Not everything is for everybody, but there’s always something for everyone.
Thank you for reading.
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Pleasure Brea (7.5)
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Hard Pass (7)
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Tedious Company (7)
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Conscious Confuser (7)
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His Ilk (6)
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Drain the Coffers (8)
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One With The Floor (7.5)
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Patsy Ultima (7.5)
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Rabbit Starvation (8)
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The Devil You Know (9) [KT]