Ashenspire - Hostile Architecture

Angry Metal Guy

If you live in any major metro, you are familiar with the problem of homelessness and the effect it has had on how we enjoy our spaces, or rather, how others don’t. Hostile architecture—rails in the middle of park benches, rocky floors below awnings, incessantly flashing lights in seemingly empty corners—is a mainstay of contemporary urban design and aims to ensure that public features are for temporary public enjoyment, not temporary public shelter. Ashenspire has noticed too, and, with all the subtlety of a hippo eating a watermelon, this Glaswegian gang has chosen to use Hostile Architecture to highlight various issues surrounding arrested identity, wealth inequality, and class struggles as a lens to view the physical and psychological trappings of the modern way; cultural bottlenecks lead us down certain paths as much as any marked roadway or closed door. Their 2017 effort Speak Not of the Laudanum Quandary tried to illuminate us of the atrocities of not oft discussed history. Alas, we have not yet entirely learned to avoid making the same mistakes. Hostile Architecture screams at the face of this real-time oppression.

Though you could again draw comparisons to the like-minded A Forest of Stars, Ashenspire rages forth with calculated confidence into their own spiraling, caustic yet vibrating identity. The infamous Madam X noted that on Ashenspireߵs previous outing, lead vocalist Alasdair Dunn’s imperfect shouting Scotsman delivery—indeed an acquired taste—conveyed a wide range of emotions through the band’s languishing long, but beautiful, explorations. Possibly, those at camp Ashenspire heeded to Madam X’s wisdom¹ and have actively sought to bring down the average runtime of their messages, a decision that greatly aids in repeat enjoyment of this latest opus. Still, like a page ripped out of a tortured musical theater, Ashenspire features lyrical and discordant violin passages that take the place of a second or primary voice (“Tragic Heroin,” “Cable Street Again”). Additionally, Matthew Johnson has offered his sax screaming talents to the good fight where he can be felt spitting frenetic flutters (“Plattenbau² Persephone Praxis”) and fiery retorts (“Apathy as Arsenic, Lethargy as Lead”).

Dunn’s words hang heavy with the weight of the condemned. At the fountainous heart of Hostile Architecture’s success stands triumphantly tattered a glut of gutted, repetitive refrains, each functioning like a mantra to disillusion. Whether the refusing rally of “ALWAYS THREE MONTHS TO THE GUTTER…” (“The Law of Asbestos), the scarred seething of “NO GREAT MEN, ONLY THE GREAT MANY” (“Tragic Heroin”), or the embattled epiphany of “WE ARE THE CULT OF WORK, WE ARE THE CULT OF LABOUR SOLD” (“Apathy as Arsenic, Lethargy as Lead”), Ashenspire treats all hands like hammers to drive their messages’ hooks into your ears. And while these bleeding choruses are aplenty, other tunes weave through sharpened verses that cut to an emotional crescendo, slicing through frustration with instrumental wrath (“Béton Brut³,” “Plattenbau Persephone Praxis”).

Similarly to the swan song of the defunct Altar of Plagues, Ashenspire uses post metal reminiscent builds to hypnotize with stacked layers of chaos on their longer format excursions. Of course, rather than Teethed Glory and Injury’s despondent, industrial atmosphere, Ashenspire litters their defiant world with organic oscillations, like the guest hammered dulcimer⁴ on “The Law of Asbestos” or Scott McLean’s beautiful Rhodes jingles that ring through the darkest moments. Dunn himself, sitting behind the kit as well, continues to provide his key ‘in the pocket’ style that cultivates with jazzy aplomb the smoldering build of abstract tracks like “Béton Brut” and “Plattenbau Persephone Praxis” (which also features truly trippy vocal layering)—every raised fist comes with a bobbing head.

I can’t shake the images that Ashenspire has worked so carefully to scar into my memory—perhaps we already shared some of the same scars. Each time I walk through the halls of Hostile Architecture, a new sound stains my palate: the choral extravagance of “How the Mighty Have Vision,” the playful reset of “Palimpsest,” or even the “POUR IT IN MY EYES” of the powerful opener. I don’t think Ashenspire has cracked all the codes to their story quite yet, but without any hesitancy I can say this: they’ve let loose a performance that demands exploration. Hostile Architecture might upset you, but as you settle into its fury, you just might fall in love.



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Code 666
Websites: ashenspire.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/ashenspire
Releases Worldwide: July 18th, 2022

The post Ashenspire – Hostile Architecture Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.