UGLY DEATH NO REDEMPTION ANGEL CURSE I LOVE YOU

Ada Rook

Ada Rook is pulling double duty this year. She's already released an album this year as one half of Black Dresses, and now she has released another helping of relentless digital hardcore on her own. UGLY DEATH NO REDEMPTION ANGEL CURSE I LOVE YOU, very much in line with the Black Dresses records I've heard so far, is harrowing to say the least. There is so much frustration and anger directed at the world as Rook questions why she can't live as a trans woman uninhibited and unchallenged. These themes have been explored countless times before in her music, and yet UGLY DEATH presents these issues in a much more dire fashion. The antagonistic and rallying sound clips work in tandem with the overblown aggressiveness of the music to build a hostile cyber world in which the trans community is under attack, and they have no choice but to fight back. Now this may all sound very dramatic, but let's keep in mind that over three-hundred anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced in various states so far this year (as of April). Some have passed like the 'Don't Say Gay Bill' in Florida, or the horrendous trans athlete law in Ohio; both functioning solely to dehumanize trans people and put their bodies under a (not so metaphorical) microscope. Then there's the wave of hateful rhetoric bolstered by prominent figures who have doubled and tripled down on their comments in the face of backlash. People might have trouble seeing it, but the legislation and harmful rhetoric is violent. Ada Rook is just responding in kind to the current climate.

I'm obviously all for this subject matter, but am I a fan of these songs overall? I would say for the most part I am. Tracks like im Cis and Tru U are so overblown that song elements collapse on themselves and all that's left is distorted rubble. UNDERNEATH IT ALL has super catchy and tight industrial riffs. Vanish/Doom balances pummeling metalcore beats with the bright and triumphant moments that follow the chorus. I especially like the bell-laden bridge that provides one of the few much needed cool down moments on the record. I also really dug the more guitar-driven Xanafalgue which is as bombastic and as colourful as a Sleigh Bells track, although considerably more tortured.

The only gripe I have with UGLY DEATH is that I think it could have benefited from a few more catchy melodies. The record's sound is so unforgiving that the sense of doom can get really overwhelming by the end. There's a brief interlude track that is a little on the lighter side (Night In a Secret World), however, it appears at the very end of the record and is not quite long enough to be truly cathartic. If the record had one or two more balanced tracks similar to Vanish/Doom, I think it would have a little more staying power. At the risk of sounding contradictory, I recognize that UNDERNEATH IT ALL attempts to strike that balance, but the contrast between the deathcore flavoured industrial metal and the ultra-sweet hook delivered by ASH NERVE is perhaps too stark to make sense. Something's just not connecting with me, despite how much I love the verses. With that being said though, UGLY DEATH is a blood pumping record that will activate your fight or flight instincts, and Ada Rook's commentary on the trans experience is as relevant as ever.