You Can Be My Wave

After hearing a few projects by somewhat guarded, noisy punk rockers, The Armed, I felt like the band were establishing a checkered pattern. 2021's ULTRAPOP had more memorable highlights than not, but the 2023 follow up Perfect Saviors was the opposite for me. In the time since, I haven't even bothered to return to any of the material from that record, which is probably a stronger indication of my current attitudes towards it. However, the companion piece, 2024's Everlasting Gaze EP, had what I thought were the band's two best songs to date (NEW! Christianity and Martyr Song). The point I guess I'm trying to make is that despite not having delivered an album that I can confidently say I loved, I don't have a reason to count them out.

We find The Armed at an interesting point in their career where it's uncertain what sonic direction they could go in. They've just finished a trilogy of albums in which each instalment saw a gradual easing of the band's more volatile qualities. To me, that felt like a priming in a sense; a strong indication of the direction the band ultimately wanted to move towards. Yet, given the collective's penchant for mystery and misdirection, anything seems possible. As it turns out, THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED reverses the trend we saw throughout the trilogy. The collective shows absolutely zero restraint, coming through with some of the noisiest, nihilistic, and most pissed material I've heard from them yet. When you dive into the themes of the record, the motive behind the sound becomes quite clear: the world has gone to shit, nothing can be salvaged, let's burn it all down.

The collective wastes no time hammering home that statement with opener Well Made Play, a track rife with dishevelled, crashing percussion, sun-glared synthesizers, uncontrolled saxophones, and Tony Wolski's searing screams. If that's not enough, the whole track is saturated in burning distortion, creating a texture akin to barbed wire. The thrills continue with Purity Drag. The track has a peppy dance-punk beat along with some sweetly sung vocal melodies and a glassy piano sample in the chorus. Make no mistake though, this track is every bit as confrontational as the previous one. Rounding out a fantastic first leg, we have Kingbreaker, which was a single that I loved upon first listen. This track packs so much energy from the nuanced drum beat, the squawking saxophones, and the fervently down-stroked guitars. I love how Wolski's apathetic vocal performance and the droning chord progression (or lack thereof) give the track its heavy, stoner rock quality. All hell breaks loose once ex-Punch vocalist, Meghan O'Neil joins the fray; screaming violently as frenetic guitars and saxophones create an alarming backdrop behind her.

The album finishes just as strongly as it begins. Gave Up is probably the mathiest cut on the record, but it also has some pretty psychedelic qualities thanks to the somewhat hypnotizing vocal treatment and the not so subtle delay throws. The guitar solo on this one is demented too. The penultimate track is the album's most foreign, yet interesting cut given all the conflicting textures. On one hand, Heathen has energetic elements like the busy drum breaks with choppy and glitchy edits, as well as heavy walls of distortion. On the other, Cara Drolshagen's breathy vocals, smooth saxophone, and surprisingly funky basslines create this sense of serene sedation. While staying in line with The Armed's aesthetic, Heathen is the only moment of warm reprieve on this album. It's unceremoniously short-lived though as we are launched right back in the fray with A More Perfect Design. The first leg feels like the second coming of Naked City, combining relentless grindcore with psychotic free jazz, and drowning it in more distortion. We grind to a close with a nasty beatdown led by Wolski's most desperate screams, but not before leaving off with one last deafening shot of noise to ensure that everything has been laid to waste.

One negative I can find are a few physically uncomfortable moments where the noise and furious playing becomes too extreme for the eardrums to handle. Also, given how strong the beginning and end of the record is, some tracks in the middle naturally pale in comparison. A huge positive though is that this album miraculously skirts a problem that is common with sonically assaulting records of this kind; that is, not sounding completely monotonous. While each track is heavily distorted and boasts dishevelled mixes, The Armed does an incredible job of giving each track its own personality. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED is a fantastic record, handily the best one I've heard from them thus far. The Armed joins Honningbarna, Deafheaven, Full of Hell, and vildhjarta in building a case demonstrating that 2025 will be a year dominated by alternative rock and metal.