Some of us wake up every day and we don’t give it a second thought. We go about our business and watch a regular day tick down until we sleep again. But many others live under the surface of that, struggling to survive, often disappointed when their eyes open again the next morning. It’s a battle against and for oneself.
“Wellness Plan” is the second full-length from Genital Shame, the project helmed by Erin Dawson, and it’s an examination of the frustration over one’s survival and why it must continue. But not in the way I made that sound. There’s an admiration for, as Dawson details, white blood cells seeking viruses to protect the body where it lives, for instance. It also could be some other force we don’t know. As this record swims through darkness and light, Dawson still builds a black metal foundation but also smears that with different colors and textures, sometimes going delicate and quiet in between gusts of melting lava.
“Replace What I’m After” opens with acoustics and softer singing, a quiet intro that melts into “Down Titration Strategies” that gusts instantly with power and shrieks. Keys zap, leaving a spacey sheen, and the leads sweep, the pace mashing your insides. The feel is both numbing and blistering, the keys create an intoxicating cloud, and the playing suddenly halts, strings moaning on the other side. The guitars flex and the bass bends, blowing through howling smoke, smashing until glacial keys soothe. “Spiced Loam” balances rustic guitars and fiery leads, the growls stretching over top, the quiet and calamitous in battle. Guitars swirl as clean singing ices, leading a folkish path, rabid cries stabbing before calm arrives. “I Want to Die Before You” is damaged, growls gurgling, Dawson wailing, “I feel it’s time to part ways as I did, but on terms that are mine.” There is a balance of volcanic and mystical, growls warping as everything takes a sinister turn, the leads swell, and the bass gallops hard, the playing plastering before slowly fading. “Suicide Wellness Plan” is a shorter one, guitars smearing, speaking warbling as sounds mar, harsh cries enter the mix, and keys cascade into the ground.
“Nucleus Accumbens Atrophy” is catchy and jolting, the vocals tearing open, leads soaring through the air as your limbs tingle. Moodier guitars darken as a sunburnt finish blackens the edges, leads sting and trudge, and sounds ring in your ears, causing vertigo. “Punished by Rewards” races out of the gates, guitars leading the charge, organs sliding and giving a liturgical haze, howls carving tributaries before the tempo pulls back. Keys shimmer and emit a neon glow while a steely, furious attack rattles bones, pushing on exposed nerves before disintegrating. “Górecki Peace” (named for Polish composer Henryk Górecki) flows melodically as the guitars mesmerize, raw cries feeling nakedly exposed, whirring keys causing the room the spin. The synth is spellbinding as the tempo toughens, Dawson calling, “I throw on ‘Sorrowful Songs,’ putting the needle on, I find that presence is gone,” as she addresses intrusive thoughts, ending tornadically. “Gratitude Meditation” is the longest track, running 10:30 and stirring early, grinding and sneering, the storming loosening bricks. Weird sci-fi keys slither as the heat thickens, and the pace steamrolls, noise hanging and lingering. Clean guitars trickle as growls retch, the pace stings, keys drizzle, and a final eruption buries everything in emotional lava. Closer “Goodbye (I’ve Left It Open)” features guest vocalist Elizabeth Harris (Grouper), and accordion greets, adding a haunting echo to deep existential pain. Horns glaze and sounds hover, Armageddon creeping near, beats rattling as echoes ring.
“Wellness Plan” is a record that battles with what it means to survive and why we decide to go on even after our mind tells us it might not be the right path. Dawson always has been bloodily honest as Genital Shame, and this album finds her exploring different sonic offshoots from black metal while battling her own psyche. It’s a struggle many people face every day, and even though taking another step seems torturous, we do it anyway.
For more on the band, go here: https://genitalshame.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/genital-shame
For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/
