Bending The Golden Hour

In terms of their approach, Memphis Aquarian Blood have shown an impressive commitment to letting their music evolve and take on new shapes. In terms of underlying message, theyve maintained a tight focus. On their first album, 2017s Last Nite in Paradise, their electro-shocked punk rock sounded like the product of an acid trip that was something less than good, and even though 2019s A Love That Leads to War traded the electric assault of the first LP for a moody acoustic approach, it still sounded curiously ominous, like the background score to an evening of expressive bad vibes. The bands third full-length, 2021s Bending the Golden Hour, takes the middle-of-the-night whisper of A Love That Leads to War and adds back just a dash of the more expansive attack of the debut, giving the music a richer set of dynamics and sonic texture. Coupled with the (usually) unison vocals of group leaders J.B. Horrell and Laurel Horrell, this gives Bending the Golden Hour the comforting, placid but addled sound of a cult singing around the campfire, calm in the knowledge that peace and salvation is on the horizon once that bloody apocalypse finally happens. The lyrics on Bending the Golden Hour arent particularly disturbing in themselves, but the wobbly commitment of J.B. and Laurels delivery and the minor-key simplicity of the performances brings the moody undercurrents of the songs into focus, and Spray Them All, Bending Time, and Probable Gods are powerful in their quiet authority and sense of purpose. Theres something honestly beautiful in Bending the Golden Hour, and Aquarian Blood have given us something thats striking and very special, though you might not want to hear your neighbor playing it several times a day for months on end. ~ Mark Deming