Adebisi Shank

Epic. Everything about Irish trio Adebisi Shank's second LP screams the word. Their approach to muscular, complex rock music is comparable to Battles, but tempered with head-banging punk vigour and the kind of galloping metallic stomp sure to illicit some serious fist pumping or tossing of devil horns. To slap Adebisi Shank with the math rock tag would be misleading ― seldom do they venture outside of a walloping four-four groove rhythmically, opting instead to carve blazing, syncopated, interlocking riffs overtop of a steady pulse, anchored by some mean fuzz bass. Traditional rock guitar tones co-exist with heavily processed effects that completely transform the instrument's sound. It's difficult to determine some of the sound sources at play, but what's certain is that the band know how to paint a rich sonic picture. Second Album is nearly twice the length of its predecessor, but it's so stuffed with sublime hooks and pulse-raising beats that it feels like it's over too swiftly. Instrumental, save for a few vocoder chants, the lack of vocals is irrelevant to the unrelenting energy of invention on display. That feeling in your chest? It's Adebisi Shank driving a shiv into the heart of the idea of genre boundaries. Cathartic, invigorating and inspiring, Adebisi Shank have dropped one of the year's most distinctive musical statements.