Caretaker/Undersmile - Split EP

Caretaker/Undersmile - Split EP
Genre: Metal/Alternative
Rating: 10/10

Almost a year has passed already since Caretaker last graced us with a physical release but this is hardly news when you consider the huge gap between their first full length album and their soon to be released second effort Providence. Caretaker are one of those bands that not many people know about and the few that have followed their underground career would still have trouble describing the bands sound. The bands initial recordings could have been thrown into the ever ambiguous Alt. Rock genre with the bands complex use of changing time signatures and large instrumental sections was tempered with fits of rage and gloomy moods. The bands releases to date all show so much variety you could be forgiven for thinking they were made by different bands more recently though the band seem to have done away with their grungey feedback clatterings for a more refined post metal sound. Not an obvious transition from the offset but the results are more than impressive. The band have turned their music into a huge sweeping powerhouse of twisted riffs and again sparse instrumental segments that segway the transitions from calm to full blown devastation. Opening track "Yeehah!" is a beautiful instrumental track that owes much to the formulas of post metal giants ISIS with its characteristic ambience building into a frenetic harsh comedown. They follow this with another brilliant slab of progressive metal heaven "The Inexorable March" which features Michael Woodman of the insanely proggy Thumpermonkey Lives! on vocal duties. Woodman's vocal range is pretty diverse and he suits the song well as it builds into a rather more aggressive finale that see's all of Caretaker spring into life as the tear the place to pieces.

The second half of this EP is provided by Undersmile a fledgling sludge band from Oxford. This is merely the second outing by the band but both here and on their debut EP they fail to disappoint. The bands sound is very typical sludge metal, long dirgey riffs and slow crashing cymbals rattle along at a snails pace whilst two part harmonies from the two female lead singers Taz and Hel is what really seperates this band from the burgeoning sludge scene. The bands vocal delivery contrasts beautifully against the harsh guitar tones to give both tracks they contribute to this EP a hypnotic effect. The band start as they mean to go on with their first epic "Big Wow" a track that breaks the ten minute mark and makes no apologies about it. Dark tones and moods are in abundance as the track oozes and pulses on whilst the whole experience is made all the more haunting by the dual vocals. This is followed by the album closer "Anchor" again drenched in slow crushing riffs and doom laden despair. The band mix things up somewhat allowing themselves to go full on heavy in parts replacing dual melodies with guttural roars in places but they manage to pull that off with little problem.

Overall this is an outstanding release that is interesting, intelligent and brilliantly produced. Whilst the bands styles aren't particularly similar they work well together and make the whole thing a great and engaging listen from start to finish. Whilst both Caretaker and Undersmile are still on the fringes of the unknown at the moment the potential shown by both bands here suggests that this may not be the case for long. This release works as a brilliant introduction not only to two little known bands but two different genres of metal for those who are tired of the more mainstream variants. Highly recommended.

Download: THE WHOLE DAMN THING!!!!