The Sweet Release Of Death - The Sweet Release Of Death [Katzwijm Records / Subroutine Records]

Still catching up on last years promo mailouts it's time to take a closer look at The Sweet Release Of Death's self-titled album effort which was put on the circuit in fall 2k16 as a collaborational effort of Katzwijm Records and Subroutine Records. With their second album we see the Rotterdam-based triumvirate cater a desparate, greyscale menu of noisy, feedback driven (No)Wave / PostPunk that, atmosphere-wise this is, perfectly depicts the feel of a wasted youth in the 80s West Berlin, corralled by a concrete wall whilst being under siege by the imminent escalation of a nuclear war scenario. Fuse this feel with bits and bops of contemporary Indie and Garage here and there and you'll get quite a well fitting impression of what The Sweet Release Of Death's sophomore album is all about. One track to check: "Smutek", just because its intro sequence and syncopated structure kinda reminds us of the former Hamburg-based Goth- / Wave-band X-Mal Deutschland which he hold in high regards for a reason.