I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES

Backxwash

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Backxwash's I LIE HERE BURIED WITH MY RINGS AND MY DRESSES comes hot off the heel's of last year's Polaris Music Prize winning God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It, and given all the hype over this Montreal artist, I figured it was time to see what the fuss was about. To sum things up, Backxwash delivers these incredibly aggressive verses over production that is heavily influenced by industrial metal and horror movie soundtracks. As for the content of these angrily spat performances, Backxwash tackles drug addiction, self-harm, and oppression of black people, women, and the LGBTQ at the hands of politicians, police, prominent business men, and the religious right. The words are confrontational and violent; very much deserving of the horrorcore label.

My only gripe with this record is that the production can seem a little one-dimensional. Almost every track moves at a similar pace, with these droning horror backdrops and a lumbering beat. The only outlier here is BLOOD IN THE WATER which was produced by clipping. It is a slightly more atmospheric take on Backxwash's style and has the kind of sound play you come to expect from a clipping. project. 666 IN LUXAXA doesn't deviate all that much from the formula I layed out but I did find this track's production interesting as well for the way the sample was chopped up. Towards the end of the track, we are able to here more of the sample and it is actually quite beautiful; a real juxtaposition to the dark song we just journeyed through.

The upside to the somewhat bland production is that it provides a lot of room for Backxwash and her guests to do their thing, which is fantastic. If there is any returning power in this album, it's held in the vocal performances. Backxwash doesn't slouch at all over the course of the record and maintains this super high intensity. There are moments where even her flow is absolutely relentless like at the end of IN THY HOLY NAME. Backxwash even surprises with some pretty intense screams like on the aforementioned BLOOD IN THE WATER and at the end of another great track, NINE HELLS. When it comes to the screaming performances, however, Ada Rock takes the cake who's vocal contributions on the title track are some of the most brutal deathcore screams I think I've ever heard. Going in the opposite direction, Sadie Dupuis's (of Speedy Ortiz fame) inclusion was a very pleasant surprise as I'm quite a fan of her work. She delivers a very sweet, sung chorus that provides a nice counter-balance to Backxwash's aggressive and gritty verses on SONGS OF SINNERS.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this project. It is a streamlined 10-track, 33 minute album that locks you into this sound and doesn't let go. While I wish the production did a little more of the heavy lifting or that the album maybe explored some other sounds or 'vibes,' I can't say that I came out of this feeling bored or growing tired of this particular sound. I would be interested to see Backxwash go on to create an album that is perhaps more expansive. I get the sense that she is sticking to what she is most comfortable, but that there is more that she isn't showing us.