As we advance in our lives, things that once were incredibly memorable fall by the wayside over time for whatever reason. People in our lives are the same way. One of my best friends from childhood I don’t even associate with now; one of them is a constant friend. Our interests also crumble gradually. Sometimes along with that, we also fall apart.
“Thoughtless/Dreamless” is the second record from West Coast Portland’s Semuta who deliver a four-track, 40-minute dreamer that feels like a thunderous sky prepared to douse the earth. The duo of vocalist/guitarist/bassist Benjamin Caragol and drummer/synth player Ben Stoller centers on the parts of our lives that fall apart as we age, be it relationships or communities or interests. It can take its toll on us and erode our psyches, driving us into potential darkness at a time when the world feels at its bleakest.
“Slow Decay” opens with drums rousing, the playing trickling, singing stretching across valleys, the playing trudging as the leads bend. We hit a progressive shift as colder playing swirls, the power builds, and the vocals swim through murky waters, keys adding new colors before combustion. A strong pace flexes its muscles as the guitars sprawl through an inventive pocket of playing, battering and lashing, bleeding into “A Relic” that flows gently. Guitars prick as a post-punk cloud thickens, the singing surges, and a tricky attack makes your brain work overtime. “Just a memory washed away,” Caragol calls, guitars jolting as the pace drills harder, the pressure levels off, and the temperature drops, coating with strange energy and creating a pathway.
The destination is “The Well” that vibrates bones, drums coming to life, the vocals soothing, flooding with sun beams and a dreamy ambiance. The playing also gets steely, bubbling as breezier singing chills, and then things toughen, a doomy battle mounted as things speed up considerably. The blows land harder as the intensity cools, sounds drip, and we’re headlong into the closing title track that hovers before slowly dawning. Guitars mar vision as the singing slinks, Caragol warning, “No illusions, no escape,” as the track burns in its tracks. The pace tears open as Caragol wails, “Dilated! Wide awake!” as the leads smoke. A jazzy turn dizzies, and growls enter the mix, the late brutality bringing an apocalyptic feel, the playing thundering before slamming the door shut.
All of us are dealing with something even past the world crumbling at our feet, and Semuta put a human, emotional mark on that journey with “Thoughtless/Dreamless.” The tumult and fire contained within these songs are easily relatable as our own nervous systems can thrash out when we’re feeling particularly vulnerable. This is music that feels fitting when navigating the darker times, knowing there are ways through we just have to find.
For more on the band, go here: https://semutamusic.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.accidentprone.com/product/semuta-thoughtlessdreamless-pre-order
For more on the label, go here: https://www.accidentprone.com/
