Srpen

This single starts out with a lushly produced soft passage that builds quickly, making it seem like this nameless band's compositional skills have improved. And they have. Srpen's paltry length means it progresses quickly, never letting any passage linger too long. Though Srpen is contained in a small package, it's a repeat of everything else this Deafheaven-inspired outfit's done up to this point, improving quite a bit but not enough to make (nic) truly remarkable.

The band's main problem- its singer- is back, though he's not nearly as big a nuisance this time around. His shrieking seems a bit more structured and emotional. The anguish he tried to convey on his group's demo finally comes through on this single. He also handles the drumming, which ranges from explosive blasting in the song's more intense moments to simple rhythm keeping in the soft passage near the middle of the song to the occasional drum fill.

Srpen grows on you in a way this group's prior output doesn't. Mainly this is because of its brevity and how much progression is crammed into the 2:48 runtime. Most of the song is one idea that starts out soft and meditative and then feeds into a furious metal reinterpretation of itself. The clean, mournful guitars weave a thick atmosphere that bears a seed of hope, carrying a rhythm that's strongly reflective of the mood in the song's softest and heaviest moments. In the last 40 seconds or so, the song switches to another musical idea, which turns out to be a slurry of indistinct blackgaze that adds nothing to the overall product. Still, though, roughly three fourths of this experience is engaging and enjoyable.

While (nic) is still nowhere near the top of the blackgaze market in either quality or monetary earnings, Srpen showcases the talents of a lackluster band that's committed to improving itself. For now, they're still not putting out anything especially distinguished, but based on the amount they've grown since their demo, it wouldn't be too surprising if these guys became a fairly prominent name (read: name-deprived entity) in the blackgaze scene some time in the next few years.