Brutus’ new album Nest encapsulates a swirl of mind-bending, ethereal emotional release. The songs feel like a massive wave washing over the listener, and while the force packs a punch, there’s enough stability in your step to maintain a face-off with the elements. The Belgian band play a unique blend of catchy melodic hooks and absolutely massive sonic sweeps, forging new ground for themselves as an outfit and the scenes they operate in. Their music’s sheer force cracks open the doors that have been shut for far too long, whether they be holding back new sonic or emotional territory.
As with their previous work, throughout Nest, Brutus’ work gets driven along by the powerful, soaring contributions of vocalist and drummer Stefanie Mannaerts. Her drumming and singing both reach fascinating heights of complexity, delivering psyche-piercing emotional drive as easily as she floats along in a melodic undertow. At plenty of points, bassist Peter Mulders and guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden shine right alongside Mannaerts, coming together in some kind of surprisingly cosmic reach for the stars from all the way down here in our human turmoil, where something harsh like black metal might be the most accurate representation of our condition.
Nest‘s intensity gets reminiscent of black metal at plenty of points, but Brutus do not stop there, running through catchy melodic work all the way up to the atmospherics that serve as a substantive element of their latest album. Clearly, the band aren’t afraid to present their musical ideas with a burning passion, and their listeners are all the better for it. Nest totally upends expectations for how far a band can go and provides a rocking good time doing it.
Emotionally, the album sits at a unique place, where anger, sadness, jubilation, and more have come together into some possibly unwieldy mixture and the only option left is to infuse yourself with the powerful, invigorating music on Nest. Sonically, the album flies all over the place, and the band bring their wild threads together with beautiful precision. The music doesn’t provide many clear “answers,” instead opting for an energetic experience that could leave your head spinning and a craving for more.
5/5 Stars
Listen below via Bandcamp. The full album is available March 29 via Sargent House.