by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
For Boston’s Blue Ray their sound is often so lo-fi and abrasive, the guitar noise could usually be described as violent. Occasionally the squalor of distortion is peeled back ever so slightly to reveal great songs lurking underneath the ooze. It’s not for everyone, but if you like mind-rattling destruction in your indie rock, it’s always a bright spot. Which brings us to Blessed Fruit, their upcoming EP, which is easily the most violent and deranged the band have ever sounded. The entire record is sonically threatening to bury you under a mountain of high frequency feedback and piercing levels of gain. Coincidentally, while the record may be the project at its most raw, it’s also the first to be professionally mastered, with Will Killingsworth of Dead Air Studios to thank for this one.
Blessed Fruit probably isn’t the record you want to hear first thing in the morning, but then again, maybe it is, like a greasy deep fried jolt or energy. The entire album sounds evil, and when listening on headphones, that evil seeps its way in. The melodies throughout are buried deep in the mix, but they are there if you’re willing to work hard enough to hear them. From the first caterwauling squeal of “Red Rum” to the overblown garage punk grind of “Piss Truck,” there isn’t a moment of respite, this is auditory assault, but it’s clear that Blue Ray’s Johnny Steines is having a good time pushing the utter chaos as far as it will go.