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| photos courtesy of Sesame. |
I first found Sesame as I was scrolling through fellow internet music journalist, Stop Calling Them Screamo's page (they have so many excellent write-ups that you MUST check out). They are so incredibly dark, spaced between atonal messages like some chaotic telepathy of agony. But, they shine in these moments of dense composition and beautiful arrangements made complete and commiserating in Zeo's purely destructive screams. I Will Turn, I Will, I Will is one of the coolest releases of the year and I have been desperate to cover it.
I Will Turn, I Will, I Will creeps upon fuzzy keys and ambient pads before a sardonic clean guitar introduces us to a wider arrangement of aching. It builds slow, Zeo's playing light and fearful under his own whispering vocals. When he finally projects his voice in full force it's almost deafening and painful. Ashton and Aiden follow suit accordingly with a pedal of crushing blasts, Aiden's bass wah'd the fuck out and quacking like a trampled gosling. They transition perfectly between tempos and rhythms, so smooth you wouldn't know what hit you. We just keep getting hammered and hammered against uncaring riffs as Ashton builds and dies, builds and dies on the kit. We get a moment of tranquility between crumbling walls in this fragile solo guitar, but whispers that line the edges take us out of the trance.
Ends starts in fury and fire unlike anything else, a military beat for the guns themselves and a ghost cry for the wounded. It almost sounds like we crossfade out and into these two-faced butterfly arpeggios betrayed by yearning vocals and constant hums. Zeo sounds fucking identical to Chino in this bridge, it's actually shocking. They just sound so insanely huge, I'd give anything to hear this shit live. Their affinity for inconsistency, always hammering slower and slower riffs trembling with noise, even reminds me of Sprain in moments. The razor bass holds us down to drawn out bashes and a weakening heart.
Soon Again (Why'd We Let it Go?) gives us a light homage to static before clean, yet still wavering with some unspoken trifle, guitars and bass push through. Ashton's kick sounds like a pillowcase, and these subtle soundscapes drift us to sleep. It's almost like some lo-fi contemporary RNB jam, and with these high and sensual vocals I'm even reminded of Puma Blue. The midway point marks a shift as tensions rise, clawing upwards with each step only to keep returning to its center with newfound intensity until we slow back down to these static sheets.
Always Wrong, Open Wide forces Aiden centerstage for a distorted waltz, skipping stones across destruction like disillusioned survivors. Everything gets so distorted as we build up that it feels like the very fabric of sound itself is falling apart. Ashton fits insane fills into fickle beats that slow and speed and slow and speed without transition until Aiden's pulse haunts us in its daring simplicity, layers of reverbed vocals scratching at the edges. This part is hypnotic, harping on its few chords confidently, yet lightly. Ashton handles these dynamics so incredibly well here, its like they just put a fader on his hands. We bleed into lonely cathedral vocals and a guitar to match.
Life Will Be Better in Philly fades into this riff that feels like finding a loved one dead before its blast beat chorus. Sesame sends themselves full-heartedly into despair in these tracks, which not a lot of bands or musicians can do. It feels good to hear, almost validating. I want to compare some of these chorus-y moments to Deftones, but then they break into spaced out chords and blast beats I'd never hear from nu-metal heads in a million years. Returning to our romantic chorus, Aiden's bass takes on new color against Ashton's cymbal smashing and Zeo's impressively long screech. This shit is actually so well-composed and interesting. There is not a single second of boredom throughout this entire record. Even when we return to previous parts, we do so with a newfound energy or confidence or rhythm, or some other secret thing I can't even put my finger on. We wade into a practice session and get a moment of intimacy, Sesame no longer hiding behind walls of despairing noise or lo-fi guitars.
Do As I Say, Not As I Do is just beautiful. We can't follow the guitar and bass, but we can feel them. Their ability to go from larger than life to as small as a feral little creature is commendable. Then we build forever along an endless railroad and a train that sees no chance of slowing. Even when we think we'll crash, we reach dangerous speeds and intensity. I get physically antsy listening to this song. And without release, we return to beauty, to reality. We turn again into dread with slowcore passion, static beeping in one ear and as quiet a guitar as possible in another. We do this forever, and will still be doing it.
They've mastered their presence. It's mysterious, miserable, writhing, and so out of reach. I've said this about a few projects, but I've never felt so confident in this assertion than I do for Sesame: they feel born of the same bread that Slint devoured, that whispering clean guitar that explodes into insanity and those indecipherable lyrics upon drawn-out ballads to uncertainty. Everything about this lives and breathes obscure 90s post-hardcore tape. And holy shit, we need more long emo songs. Absolutely listen to this. They have a new song coming next month, too.
9.5/10
Stream I Will Turn, I Will, I Will.
-Foster
See Sesame live with Silk, GXLLIUM, Sevencrimsonsuns, and Death Becomes Her at Cinco De Mayo on December 13th.
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