Bloodletter Wolf & Bear

• 1INDIGO02:40
• 2K. RESORT03:48
• 3FOOL'S GOLD03:18
• 4POOFY03:19
• 5CHAD B. KANG02:52
• 6BELLADONNA02:49
• 7THERE'S NO DUST IN THE CITY (feat. Andrew Michael Wells)03:21
• 8QUICK SIP 8403:48
• 9PAINTED LADY03:43
• 10COUNTING CARDS02:27
• 11BONSAI B.02:57
• 12DREAM SNATCHER03:44
• Total Runtime38:46

Info for Bloodletter

As the year draws to a close, the swancore scene remains as active as ever. Sacramento-based Wolf & Bear are next in line with the impending release of their sophomore record, BLOODLETTER. It’s been a long six years since the group’s debut LP, Everything Is Going Grey, with the interim period seeing the release of 2019’s EP and 2020’s pair of singles in “Street Rat” and “Monstro”. The record serves as both the final project of bassist Tim Feerick (of Dance Gavin Dance fame), following his untimely passing in April 2022, as well as a lasting tribute to him that should help re-establish Wolf & Bear as staples of the subgenre he played such a key role in for a number of years.

Opener “INDIGO” jumpstarts the record without preamble. Leading right into “K. RESORT”, the track sonically slots into place alongside the singles. “FOOL’S GOLD” follows, sounding closer to Wolf & Bear’s older material and providing a better backdrop for Watts to showcase his vocals. “POOFY” sits in a similar vein to swancore veteran Kurt Travis’ side project, Gold Necklace, with its chiller soundscape. The track flows into “CHAD B. KANG”, which starts with brooding, tappy riffs before opening up, doing well to blend their newer stylistic leanings with their more traditional sound. The transition works well, as “BELLADONNA” is another song reminiscent of the group’s past work. Aforementioned singles “THERE’S NO DUST IN THE CITY” and “QUICK SIP 84” follow afterwards, creating a patch of familiarity late in the album before moving into its final stage.

While the record is unified in its creative direction, its cohesion does act as a bit of a double-edged sword; BLOODLETTER is certainly a complete and fully realized project with its own distinct swagger, but its uniformity results in some of the tracks lacking distinguishing features to set them apart.

Additionally, while the record moves fluidly, the overall quick pace doesn’t allow time for songs to fully settle before moving onto the next. “POOFY” and “PAINTED LADY” work nicely as moments of respite while the rest of BLOODLETTER moves at a brisk pace. Their placements in the album help neatly divide the record into three acts, giving intentionality to the tracklisting. “PAINTED LADY” and its broodier aura act as the calm before the storm, leading into BLOODLETTER’s closing stretch. “COUNTING CARDS” continues the moodier sound, while penultimate track “BONSAI B.” immediately picks things back up. Cisneros’ catchy vocals recapture the attention before Watts comes crashing in with one of his most impactful moments on the record. Finally, “DREAM SNATCHER” is a nice culmination of all the sounds exhibited across the album thus far, though it is admittedly not the grand send-off needed to bring things back full circle.

"BLOODLETTER is Wolf & Bear at their most polished, resulting in their most complete body of work yet. While they’ve fully honed all the prototypical hallmarks of the swancore genre, their move into brighter sonic territory has helped them find their niche and achieve a level of confidence that wasn’t present in their previous work. Some further boundary pushing on future releases would go a long way towards helping them create an even more varied body of work, as well as help set them apart a bit more from their contemporaries in the scene." (boolintunes.com)

Wolf & Bear

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