{"id":23194,"date":"2023-09-21T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=23194"},"modified":"2023-09-19T14:12:46","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T14:12:46","slug":"maggot-heart-hunger-svart-records","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=23194","title":{"rendered":"Maggot Heart \u2013 \u2018Hunger\u2019 (Svart Records)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><a href=\"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-23174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-1140x1140.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10-65x65.jpg 65w, https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/a2784281918_10.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Ex-Beastmilk\/Grave Pleasures guitarist Linn\u00e9a Olsson originally started Maggot Heart with two ex-members of (her then touring buddies) In Solitude (drummer Uno Bruniusson and bassist Gottfrid \u00c5hman), and now seven years on from her\/their debut \u2018City Girls\u2019 EP they find themselves within the bosom of Svart Records eclectic roster of bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Hunger\u2019, is the name of their third album to date, and I\u2019m not exactly sure how I\u2019ve missed out on them until now, but better late than never eh? That\u2019s because \u2018Hunger\u2019 is not only one of the most exciting records I\u2019ve heard this year, but it also means I\u2019ve not got their two previous records (\u2018Dusk to Dusk\u2019 and \u2018Mercy Machine\u2019) to discover too. Now, that\u2019s a result in my book!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a year of strong releases (especially in the world of goth tinged music), declaring that \u2018Hunger\u2019 is one of the most exciting records I\u2019ve heard to date is either a pretty bold, or dumb, statement to make, but after repeated listens there is always something new that grabs my attention and hooks me back in, and not unlike her old Sonic Ritual band mate (and now label buddy) Henrik Palm\u2019s solo releases for Svart there is no single genre of music that you can pin Maggot Heart\u2019s sound on, which in a world jam packed full of bands called Black Whisk(e)y Rivers or whatever, is what makes the record\u2019s eight tracks so God damn exhilarating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the thunderous bass of Olivia Airey (who joined the band pre \u2018Mercy Machine\u2019) that propels the record into the stratosphere as Olsson rages \u201cyou are what you eat\u201d and opener \u2018Scandinavian Hunger\u2019 flies off on some kind of off-kilter Voivod meets solo Henrik Palm three-minute musical maelstrom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MAGGOT HEART - Looking Back at You (OFFICIAL LYRICS VIDEO)\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/omy0PHUfE1M?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By contrast \u2018Nil By Mouth\u2019, whilst retaining that early days Ghost vibe that Palm brought to their music also has a poke in the eye simplicity about it. This is exceptional stuff and I\u2019m amazed this wasn\u2019t released as the album\u2019s lead single instead of the far more \u201cchallenging\u201d \u2018Looking Back At You\u2019, but then that\u2019s the very essence of Maggot Heart I guess, nothing about this record is what you would expect, and if you want further proof of this just give the horn drenched \u2018LBD\u2019 a listen. It gives me goosebumps every time I hear that intro and when the brass section crops up again towards the end of the tune it\u2019s almost like Nile Rodgers has been given a call to work his remix magic on this six minute plus giant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That credit though must be afforded to Ben Greenberg and in particular the space his mix affords the musicians during tracks like \u2018Archer\u2019(something akin to PJ Harvey around the time of \u2018To Bring You My Love\u2019) and then also capturing the unyielding nature of the aforementioned \u2018Looking Back At You\u2019 whilst somehow still managing to retain a perfect balance across the record\u2019s thirty seven plus runtime. This really is something that deserves a special mention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the tunes themselves, it\u2019s impossible for me to single out a favourite, but the one that instantly made me smile from ear to ear is \u2018This Shadow\u2019, a tune that has that distinctive Beastmilk guitar chime all over it and it could very easily sit alongside any of the tracks from that band\u2019s classic \u2018Climax\u2019 record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MAGGOT HEART - This Shadow (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ubpdfc5m1uY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hunger\u2019s final duo of tunes \u2018Concrete Soup\u2019 and \u2018Parasite\u2019 pretty much square the creative circle on a record chock full of experimentation as Olsson, Bruniusson and Airey lock into some kind of gothic space rock groove that could easily be termed \u201cprogressive\u201d (ahem), but here the trio never once lose the focus of their song. So, Maggot Heart are progressive without ever being prog if that\u2019s at all possible?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whatever your own take on \u2018Hunger\u2019 will be there is no arguing that this is indeed a unique record in an age when they are few and far between. It\u2019s one that (as I said at the top of this review) defies genre pigeonholing and it is as fearless a record as you\u2019ll hear anywhere in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If RPM actually scored records, \u2018Hunger\u2019 would be a ten out of ten without question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018Hunger\u2019 is released via Svart Records on 29th September and is available to pre-order via Bandcamp <a href=\"https:\/\/maggotheart.bandcamp.com\/album\/hunger\">HERE<\/a> (you can also stream three songs here if you want to listen to the album) and from Svart Records <a href=\"https:\/\/www.svartrecords.com\/en\/product\/maggot-heart-hunger\/11597\">HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/maggotxheart\/\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/maggotxheart\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/linktr.ee\/maggothearthunger\">https:\/\/linktr.ee\/maggothearthunger<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Author: Johnny Hayward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ex-Beastmilk\/Grave Pleasures guitarist Linn\u00e9a Olsson originally started Maggot Heart with two ex-members of (her then touring buddies) In Solitude (drummer Uno Bruniusson and bassist Gottfrid \u00c5hman), and now seven years on from her\/their debut \u2018City Girls\u2019 EP they find themselves within the bosom of Svart Records eclectic roster of bands. \u2018Hunger\u2019, is the name of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[8332,2399],"class_list":["post-23194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-maggot-heart","tag-svart-records"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23194"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23195,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23194\/revisions\/23195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}