Instrumental kraut-noise-psych rock quartet, Fresh Snow, are back with their second full-length album, ‘ONE’. The album was recorded with Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck, METZ, Preoccupations) in a rural Ontario barn and is out now via Hand Drawn Dracula.
Fresh Snow – ONE (HDD054)
Track listing
01. Olinda
02. January Skies
03. Mass Graves / Dance Caves
04. Eat Me In St Louis
05. I Can’t Die
06. Three-Way Mirror
07. I Am Smitten With Your Wrath
08. Anytime Minutes
09. Flat White
Now that we got all of the basic infer out of the way, let’s get to what you’re here for – a review of Fresh Snow’s ‘One’.
The album starts soft on the track Olinda but it builds up throughout the track into heavy, noisy riffs and then progresses into a nice big wall of noise. This flows right into the breakneck stomp and drum assault of the next track, January Skies. Mass Graves / Dance Caves draws on Fresh Snow’s dancier side with more accessible vocals, and on this track you can hear Graham Walsh’s production start to really shine. I Can’t Die was one of the tracks released ahead of the album and it’s a little slice of swirling synthy goodness. It sounds ‘nice and good’ with a thick layer of evil bubbling under the surface. Flat White is the standout track on ‘ONE’ with a super catchy and melodic tune that intermittently get completely annihilated with blasts of noise. Very nice indeed.
The band describes ‘ONE’ as an album that is both structured and instinctual, made without ego or fear of alienating its listeners. Noise and texture is always prevalent, however minimalism is newly explored in places throughout the album, alongside electronic treatments, and English / French vocals. This is the perfect summary to explain ‘ONE’ – it creates a perfect tension between beauty, creepy, discomfort, and joy all wrapped up together. Grab a copy of the album – it won’t disappoint especially if you’re into the previous Fresh Snow albums, Mogwai or Holy Fuck.
For more information on Fresh Snow, visit freshsnowmusic.com.
