by Allen Hale (@concretetunnels)
Pygmy Lush’s TOTEM is an unlikely feat in all regards. Rising from the ashes of cult favorite screamo band Pageninetynine, the group’s trajectory from the aforementioned style into contemporary folk and indie rock is an unorthodox course mirrored by few post-hardcore pioneers. Shelved for nearly a decade before finally seeing the light of day, TOTEM evinces a thorough re-ignition of the hard-hitting styles which first put these musicians on the map.
From the get-go, though, TOTEM hardly resembles a reversion to their trailblazing screamo of prior decades. Instead, the fiery (and, oftentimes, atmospheric) post-hardcore voyages taken here are hard to surmise as one subgenre. The listener is offered a variety ranging from grungy gruffness to slow-burners and technical numbers alike, the latter being reminiscent of San Diego bands like Trumans Water or Drive Like Jehu. Like the record’s release itself, the track-to-track journey unfolds with an alluring air of surprise.
As an opening pair of tracks, “House of Blood (Butch’s Monster)” and “It Wasn’t a Compliment (Martial Law)” largely—but non-exhaustively—hit on the LP’s sonic mainstays: hypnotic, tense repetition of pummeling riffs, chiding vocals with a range of expressive affect in their layering, and an overarching sense of controlled chaos. On a purely rhythmic level, the pacing between songs is refreshing throughout, wielding an assortment of tempos to consistent, art-y results.
For instance, the subsequent rapidity of “A Little Boy and His Bulldozer” is immediately followed by “Algorithmic Mercy (Prayers Printed Directly into a Shredder),” which creeps along at a hypnotic, mid-tempo swirl led by Erin McCarly’s ghostly singing. Later highlights include the choppy directness of “Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound” and the irresistible melody of “Artistic Blood / Blanket Out the Sun (in a world of better things).”
Despite being beamed in from the past, TOTEM is unaged, a nuanced expression of the band’s growth with occasional nods to their history. Considering the group never officially broke up in first place—in addition to recently playing their first show in several years—fans are left to actively ponder how Pygmy Lush may reinvent themselves going forward, rather than agonizing over the innumerable directions they could have gone. For a listener, the numerous possibilities showcased here are rousing.