Leeds three piece, Tree of Sores, are resuscitating the mangled remains of the sludge genre with their unique, hypnotic, intoxicating revelry. A strange brew: alluring corridors of dreary riffs, raw and vitriolic attitude, crystalline moments of subdued melody and an eclectic mix of downtrodden atmosphere. More superb work from the talented Black Uroborus serves to illuminate the canon of music on show within to staggering effect. This is a release from http://www.witchhunterrecords.com/ and is limited to an edition of only 150 copies. The release is available to stream in full over at Bandcamp.
Inevitable Neurosis comparisons have and will arise as the band continues to ascend from this fledgling state. This is a lazy comparsion, and one that undermines a project that proves promising in its own right. Not suggesting that Tree of Sores are trampling on new, undiscovered territory in the world of the music here. No. This is a project carving out its own cosset in the gnarled branches of the phylogenetic tree: just south of the bark covered in sludge and somewhere north from the brittle roots of punk. There is promise in the swelling maelstrom of energized sludge that lies at the heart of this art.
Every track is laced with the finest thread of melody, a tightrope walk between the jaws of aggression and unrelenting pity. At times we witness the three piece shed their metallic carapace to reveal a formless, sprawling inclination to breach out beyond the frozen walls of the bands youth into new territory. Tree of Sores are ascending beyond the brittle charities that comparisons to Neurosis and Amebix allow, into a monument all their own. The Tree of Sores EP is as cathartic and honest as expansive sludge can get, amalgamating the cornerstone truths bands like Neurosis and Isis uncovered. Inspired and tumultuous in its ascent to grapple with your attention, this is music that will haunt the daydreamers and soothe the insomniacs among you.
Listen to the entire EP for free over at the Tree of Sores Bandcamp page, and pick up a copy from Witch Hunter Records.
