Mutes and the unhinged jagged reverie of "Severe Clear"

 

"there'll be no drowning of my days but for how long..."

"Severe Clear" from Birmingham's (UK) Mutes begins with twenty nine, yes twenty nine raw crashing guitar / bass / drum downbeats. It feels like a crazy powerful inhalation at the end of which you have trouble breathing... then it sprints. The proto punk jangle of the guitar and double time driving bass on a runaway beat draws jubilation while the vocal aesthetic wailing and exasperated runs more dark. The track as revealed by the band, "weighs up the pains of addiction vs. the blinding clarity of one's shortcomings in the light of sobriety."

As soon as the song finally breathes in dreamy ways it runs again with even more up-charged driving sounds. Then, suddenly, becomes askew, dissonant, spinning violently inward as those crashing beginning downbeats signal the end.

"Severe Clear" is the second single from the bands third album "Dreams of Being Cornered" dropping July 5th (2021) and can be pre-ordered at the band's Bandcamp page.

-Robb Donker Curtius

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Mutes are no strangers to the many haunts of the second city’s independent music scene. Veering between seductive siren-songs and urgent noise-fests with ease, the band released their sophomore album 'Pareidolia' in 2019 through their own label, FOMA. Having shared stages with the likes of The Cribs, No Age, Charly Bliss, Frigs & more, and received support from BBC 6 Music, their new release eclipses all previous through it's sheer sonic scope and cohesiveness.

2021 sees the band releasing their 3rd LP, 'Dreams of Being Cornered'. Recorded in a mere 2 days just before the pandemic hit, the record sees the band finally translate the blistering energy of their live show into a record that truly has its own voice- a real crossover record that blends post-punk exploration with shimmering synths, chaotic noise and cryptic yet confessional lyrics.

Mutes, Post-Punk, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Birmingham, UK, three piece, jangly guitar, driving bass, shifting drums, wailing vox, melodious croons, "Severe Clear"