SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: WINDWAKER – HYPERVIOLENCE

WINDWAKER
HYPERVIOLENCE
FEARLESS RECORDS

Sometimes, escaping all the limitations preventing you from creating something new is the only way to innovate. Windwaker’s commitment to distinctive refinement without sacrificing individuality has been evident in every album, driven, as they always have been for musical challenge and change. Concocting wizardry of unsuspecting instrumental and genre vitriol and candy-coated pop hooks that effortlessly cascade into infectious hip hop moments and a gravid metallic guitar and percussive presence, the charismatic quintet has moved into exciting new sonic territories within their latest release, Hyperviolence.

While 2022’s debut release, Love Language demonstrated unprecedented and bold exploration, Hyperviolence is all the more expressive and fearless in its delivery within its baroscopic and propulsive sharpened edges. Such heartfelt confessions aligned with aggressive catharsis begin with the first experience, “Infinity”. Bubbling over with cathodic exuberance and a domineering instrumental atmosphere, Windwaker, upon the first impression of this album, shows a sound perfected within each layer of their musical identity. With the ebbs and flows of gorgeous melodic and ethereal passages tucked in between massively dauntless guitar riffs and breakdowns, the band displays a sound that has struck a petulant chord of a resurgence with the musical veins of each track’s delivery.

This evolved progression of huge choruses and alluring use of varied vocals—the screams and cleans are diverse and powerful—continues with “Sirens” and “Fractured State of Mind”.   Both potent and tremendously effective early experiences, Windwaker continues to set a stratified tone for banger after banger of explosive dissonance that unravels for the listener from the start. Vocalist Liam Guinane does a fantastic job in both numbers, transcending from cleans to screams within the melodicism and voltaic-charged edge interwoven consistently throughout.

“Villain” and “Get Out” contribute to Hyperviolence’s ongoing development in sonic maturity and melodic experimentation. This level of comfortability in their opulent and contentious sound stems from a band that has spent the last seven years honing their authentic sound, a group whose confidence and creative abundance have continued to blossom. Experiences such as these effortlessly traverse ranges of complex softness and heaviness levels in the most unexpected ways, demonstrating a remarkable degree of synchronized fluidity throughout.

Hyperviolence takes a dramatic twist in “Haunting Me”, showcasing a softer and more eerie excursion that demonstrates no limit to what they might touch on the last remaining moments of the album. Hyperviolence drifts back to its catatonic shores with “Hypnotized” and “Venom”, moments on the album that smoothly blend harsh EDM energies within its even more meteoric instrumental interludes. Liam Guinane captivates with his ability to switch between scat/rap verses, clean vocals, and agitated screams, adding a touch of filth and grit to its guitar riffs and dream-like atmosphere. Such turns in this journey only solidify the band’s flawless conquering of impossible odds by blending the most atypical musical soundscapes and making them sound uniform.

“Tabula Rasa”, a near-end experience, pushes and amplifies the band’s potential for exploration within their rapcore arsenal that “Venom” creatively introduces beforehand. The ability of such discordant vocals to float upon such a dynamic sonic substratum is what keeps these moments shining throughout the record, something that continues to remain successful to the last experience.

Hyperviolence ends with another key change and lasting impression, “Julie”, blending otherworldly, heavenly sonic environments with a sense of lyrical and vocal elevation, Windwaker ends with one of the most gorgeous and evocative moments on the record.

Hyperviolence is the type of record that starts in one place and ends in a completely different one by the end. Hyperviolence is an album best described as a masterpiece of organized chaos. Its punchy and personal lyrics, combined with its melodic and EDM brilliance, balance out its brutal depth. However, an album like this is more than just adroitly fusing contrasts and musical risk; it also delves into severing the bonds of old skin and emerging stronger on the other side. While fighting that battle—either personally or musically—is not always simple, the courage to overcome obstacles and carry on being true to oneself within one’s creative journey frequently pays off in the greatest ways. There is a sense of confidence, abrasive eloquence, and respect for all the genre representations presented within the record, seamlessly integrating intelligent lyricism, that makes this album stand out among its contemporaries. Hyperviolence doesn’t try to be something it isn’t, rather, Windwaker takes their gusty and audacious attitudes and applies them to musical form, and such adventurous spirits are beautifully represented throughout.

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