Bloody Gears, “Frozen Rain” 7-inch

cover-bloody-gears-frozen-rainListening to the a-side of Bloody Gears‘ “Frozen Rain” single is a gloomy experience. The downtempo, churning rhythm of the track gives the song a sensation of openness. Not the inviting openness of an embrace, but more like a field under a cloudy winter sky. It’s goth as fuck, which is contrasted very effectively by the songs on the b-side, “Bite the Hand” and “Tragic Mistake.”

“Frozen Rain” builds over the course of its five minutes, with the guitars remaining muted in the mix, never quite cutting through the muting drums and bass. The two songs on the flip, however, hit immediately. There’s no build — both songs start off full-tilt, and go straight on until the end. These tracks are less chanting, and more immediate. Although the bass is equally as important as the guitars, the guitar tone manages to come through, like a spot of sun coming through the cloud cover at day’s end.

The vocals are probably the part on which I’m having a hard time using anything but facile comparisons. Essentially, it’s Spencer Moody (Murder City Devils) meets Ian Mackaye (Fugazi) with a soupçon of Ian Curtis (Joy Division). Think hoarse, declamatory, and insistent, all underlain with a sense of desperation.

Nice work from Grave Mistake on this one. The cover’s equally as creepy as the music inside, and the big hole 45s they’ve been doing lately are just super. Comes with a download code, as always, with 320 Kbps mp3s.