Sister Kiva will write this one... Send music shit to [ fosterhildingmusic@gmail.com ] or DM me on Instagram.
Hello--Kiva again! I’m so very excited to be reviewing INCARI's new EP, Won’t Hold Me Much Longer. INCARI is an IE doom band that I’ve been a huge fan of for about a year now and this is their first major release--and she is a doozy.
Damned opens with Jordy’s chugging guitar, first mono, then stereo--immediately giving this song a massive feel. Hector blasts the drums, vocals, and bass in quickly. The vocals here are low and steady. Everyone holds a groove for a moment but quickly breaks off, tension building from the backing vocals as their booming and echoing beg the question, “Am I damned?” over and over. The torment is palpable, only getting thicker. The guitar goes from chugging to a more staccato riff, bass mirroring the shift. The earlier groove is reintroduced, but screaming accompanies the speaking this time around. The break is given much more build this time, with spoken vocals so close you feel you’re in the same room. The drums right jab, then left hook you back into the chorus, one of my absolute favorite parts on the EP: snare, bell, boom.
Rat King. As a previous recording of this song was the only project INCARI has had out for the past year, I was very familia with it, but it was so cool to hear it with new production. Rat King opens with a thundering roll of toms--strings and vocals quickly joining. The riff and soft vocals give make the listener anxiously eager. The intro is a brief but successful build, plunging us into a driving section with a quick roll and guttural scream. Once again, INCARI knows when they’ve got something good, and they’re not afraid to revisit every striking progression. Their tone in both guitar and bass is so perfectly dialed in, and it shows very clearly here. When everything slows down, their allegiance to doom truly shines. The guitar and bass chug along slowly as the vocals grow from speaking to screaming. One of the coolest parts of this track is the background vocals: a soothing feminine voice mirroring Hector’s cadence with an ethereal air.
This project is so special, and INCARI is absolutely one of my favorite bands I’ve found over the past year. They cannot be labeled as simply doom, with obvious nods to shoegaze, metal, hardcore, post-rock, and many others. This EP is so damned (haha, get it) good, and a beautiful snapshot of where they are right now. I truly cannot wait for more from them. I advise you all to keep your eyes on INCARI, they’re going to continue to do very special things. I wish the bass was a little less buried in the mix, but it’s truly an incredible project and I will be listening to it every day forever. Thank you for reading! Bye!
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| photos courtesy of INCARI. |
Hello--Kiva again! I’m so very excited to be reviewing INCARI's new EP, Won’t Hold Me Much Longer. INCARI is an IE doom band that I’ve been a huge fan of for about a year now and this is their first major release--and she is a doozy.
Damned opens with Jordy’s chugging guitar, first mono, then stereo--immediately giving this song a massive feel. Hector blasts the drums, vocals, and bass in quickly. The vocals here are low and steady. Everyone holds a groove for a moment but quickly breaks off, tension building from the backing vocals as their booming and echoing beg the question, “Am I damned?” over and over. The torment is palpable, only getting thicker. The guitar goes from chugging to a more staccato riff, bass mirroring the shift. The earlier groove is reintroduced, but screaming accompanies the speaking this time around. The break is given much more build this time, with spoken vocals so close you feel you’re in the same room. The drums right jab, then left hook you back into the chorus, one of my absolute favorite parts on the EP: snare, bell, boom.
The chorus pauses, only for a wrenching growl/screech, then right back to it--another favorite moment for me. A new build is introduced along with a new harmony in the guitars and backing vocals reminiscent of heavier shoegaze. The drums turn from punching to pulsing, vocals only growing in desperation. We get the signature 1-2, 1-2 punch of this song into a more ethereal, haunting section. David’s bass is given its space to shine here as it continues in a low, oaky chug. We’re thrusted back into the chorus, this time every piece that was used sparingly before comes together full force. It’s a final, drastic, pleading, yet crumbling prayer.
Damned proves that INCARI has mastered what few musicians are humble enough to achieve: knowing when to pull back and give space for the others. They never overstep each other, sonically or stylistically. The lyrics of this song demand an answer to a simple question, but one that plagues the asker and haunts them for life. "Am I damned?" Am I, for some reason out of my control, completely forsaken? The demise that looms over that question also looms over the entire song, forcing you to be faced with their despair.
Flume opens with a dissonant, almost twangy riff--immediately creating sonic space. The drums begin to join in little hits to a constant rhythm before jumping into the full groove, bass hot on its tail. The vocals in the beginning sit on the edge of your conscious--further away, distorted, but somehow still so close. We switch between the consistent pulse that opened it, and a heavier, pushier version of a similar thing, vocals coming in and out where fitting. We hear a transition from the guitar alone, one that will soon be seared into our brains through later callbacks. It’s nasty in and of itself, but stripped from the other instruments and under too much distortion, it adds an entire other interesting layer. The riffs in this song are one of the very many reasons I will not settle for INCARI to be labeled as simply a doom band.
Flume opens with a dissonant, almost twangy riff--immediately creating sonic space. The drums begin to join in little hits to a constant rhythm before jumping into the full groove, bass hot on its tail. The vocals in the beginning sit on the edge of your conscious--further away, distorted, but somehow still so close. We switch between the consistent pulse that opened it, and a heavier, pushier version of a similar thing, vocals coming in and out where fitting. We hear a transition from the guitar alone, one that will soon be seared into our brains through later callbacks. It’s nasty in and of itself, but stripped from the other instruments and under too much distortion, it adds an entire other interesting layer. The riffs in this song are one of the very many reasons I will not settle for INCARI to be labeled as simply a doom band.
We are pushed into what would feel like a new section, but it’s not, allowing us to sit in the groove for a while. The vocals here grow, Hector’s voice which was soft and calm earlier swelling into a yell, then a scream. His heavier/screamier vocals always strike me. The way he dips in and out of full intensity while never wavering seems like the easiest thing in the world for him. This time around, the switch between sections isn’t seamless--it’s a pause, building tension in a way only silence could. If you’ve seen INCARI live, you've heard the vocals done here, but they don’t live in the recorded track. Curse them... Guitar sits on top in this song, drums both chopping into it and providing a pathway for its energy. The bass is like a blue whale under a fisherman’s boat--huge, steady, and powerful, moving along while managing not to break the surface. About halfway through, the guitar goes from almost twangy to furious in a new layer of distortion.
You'd expect to be launched into this full force, but it quickly dies out, giving way to only vocals and bass. Hector's vocals are new here from what we've heard so far--higher, softer, but frankly more unsettling. Then it come: the wall of sound we were expecting now hits you full force. The drums shape this section, thunder and lightning breaking the song down, bone by bone. Their rolls and fills become faster and more complex. Vocals turn into a shrieking. The solo guitar transition is reintroduced, solidifying the sound for this track. Flume takes everything piece by piece, switching from section to section relatively quickly, constantly reintroducing progressions. We’re thrown back into full distortion, but the intensity only lingers for a moment before slowing and stripping itself down. It closes with every instrument growing exhausted and finally dying out.
Rat King. As a previous recording of this song was the only project INCARI has had out for the past year, I was very familia with it, but it was so cool to hear it with new production. Rat King opens with a thundering roll of toms--strings and vocals quickly joining. The riff and soft vocals give make the listener anxiously eager. The intro is a brief but successful build, plunging us into a driving section with a quick roll and guttural scream. Once again, INCARI knows when they’ve got something good, and they’re not afraid to revisit every striking progression. Their tone in both guitar and bass is so perfectly dialed in, and it shows very clearly here. When everything slows down, their allegiance to doom truly shines. The guitar and bass chug along slowly as the vocals grow from speaking to screaming. One of the coolest parts of this track is the background vocals: a soothing feminine voice mirroring Hector’s cadence with an ethereal air.
The guitar builds space alone before thrusting us into a chopping, grinding section. The words, “Ten thousand years a slave,” continue to repeat. It’s a similar feeling to the hopeless anger in Damned, but less questioning, less desperate for help. Rat King is more like a furious acknowledgment of one’s fate--knowing, hating, and fuming. The production on this whole EP is really special. Everything is so clear and cutting, their sound truly captured. The screaming vocals near the end sound so raw and primal. It’s as if Hector’s fighting some feral animal trying to claw out of his chest. Aided by several layers of background vocals, you could strip every instrument from this section and still get the same emotion. They are so well done they create a universe on their own. The song closes abruptly, not slowing or giving any hint of an end. Its energy maintains until it simply stops, and with it, the EP.
This project is so special, and INCARI is absolutely one of my favorite bands I’ve found over the past year. They cannot be labeled as simply doom, with obvious nods to shoegaze, metal, hardcore, post-rock, and many others. This EP is so damned (haha, get it) good, and a beautiful snapshot of where they are right now. I truly cannot wait for more from them. I advise you all to keep your eyes on INCARI, they’re going to continue to do very special things. I wish the bass was a little less buried in the mix, but it’s truly an incredible project and I will be listening to it every day forever. Thank you for reading! Bye!
9/10
Stream Won't Hold Me Much Longer.
-Kiva
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