Pollinator

This is one of those albums I tricked myself into thinking I knew well, but really I'm mostly familiar with its beginning bits. It shouldn't be a surprise that grind's propensity for short songs can synergize with ADHD's propensity for diverse listening sessions, and Pollinator unfortunately was in rotation around the time that I was seeking new grind records. I knew this was a great album, but I didn't realize how special it really was until now. I was expecting a grind record with a small but meaningful helping of post-rock and its permutations, but as the album passes the 1/3rd mark, they heavily commit to the inclusion of these aspects, so I really hadn't experienced what the album was truly about this entire time.

Indeed, it has a regular enough start with Losing Weight, a relatively standard grind song for them, with blast beats and heavy riffs in the normal places as well as esoteric, Prowler in the Yard-meets-Jane Doe style lyrics (but far less gruesome). This lyrical style persists throughout the rest of the album and the poetry remains pretty interesting, with vocalist Madison Marshall screaming out cryptic references to feminine struggles and themes (like the lipstick motif). Guitarist Rorik Brooks incorporates a few melodic, flowing post-metal arpeggios and riffs into the next few songs, which sound sort of like Pelican, (and that's kinda funny to me, as Pelican's members were once part of an avant-grind band called Tusk), but past Night Song (which is very Jane Doe-esque too, i.e. Hell to Pay), the band fully commits to riffs like these, and this is where the album becomes truly post-grind to my ears. Wonder, for example, is a total earworm and was most certainly planned from the start to be a post-grind song. That melody from the beginning is so memorable, it really stuck with me for days after my first listen for the review. You might expect that they sacrifice the grind for post-metal, but there is a firmly controlled, impressively-kept balance here of the two styles. On top of those, the band also incorporates electronics here and there, (courtesy of drummer Brandon Hill), with full-on ambiance during the final moments of Al Di La and Biome and several more hidden, vibe-enhancing moments like the noises in Seven Heads and Wonder. I'll also shout out the way nearly every song bleeds directly into the next, almost like one big song.

I can't say there are very many true negatives here, more like greatness with room to grow. The mix/master for the album is very regular, and while it's not totally cleaned out and soulless like many mainstream bands, it also doesn't stand out as particularly new or unique. The longest, slowest song, Luminescent Cellar, is the one song I don't like as much as the rest. I feel that it's less interesting than the other songs, with a steady, slower tempo and less surprises overall, aside from the cheeky delayed onset of the distortion. I fought with myself at first over whether I should extend the post-grind tag to this. Having heard the first 1/3rd of the album multiple times, I thought it was more like grind with the occasional post-metal part; however, past the halfway point, they really let the freak flag fly, cementing it as not only a post-grind release, but a damn good one. Cloud Rat's latest album is seen as better by many, but don't let that discourage you from checking out this marvelous feat of intriguing, enduring post-grind.

I can't say that I regularly keep up with the modern grindcore scene, but Cloud Rat are one of the bands that are on my radar. I think my favourite may always be the (classic style) screamo influenced debut. However, the band's albums have been remarkably consistent throughout their decade-long existence. While Cloud Rat does have their experimental side - just look at the electronic EP Do Not Let Me Off the Cliff - Pollinator keeps it interesting in more subtle ways. While a quite cohesive beast, there is a remarkable variety in their riffs. It almost feels like a disservice to the band to just call them grindcore and just leave it at that.

There's a lot in the mix here, but Cloud Rat do very much hold steadfast to their grindcore roots. However, this is a world away from bands that worship at the altar of early Napalm Death. While still ripping, Pollinator doesn't have the same abject scumminess to it. Hell, that string bend part in "The Mad" is downright pretty. Besides the great variety of super-heavy riffs here - hardcore outbursts, doomy plods, thrashy ragers . . . I could go on forever here - we have some moments that provide a contrast to all the doom and destruction. The way the guitars lightly flitter across the soundscape in songs like "Delayed Grief / / Farmhouse Red" is oddly beautiful. Man, "Luminescent Cellar" even has a post-rock section in it. With this much variety in a punky and grindy framework I'd almost compare this to power violence if it didn't feel so calculated.

As for the musicianship, everyone has chops. Rorick obviously knows a thing or two about weaving together powerful and varied riffs. The drumming is great, technically adept but still maintains a loose enough feel to be a hell of a lot fun. Madison's vocals are always a highlight. She has a very powerful scream, and you can tell she's putting a lot of emotion into her tales of the hardship of modern day life and the ills of society (even if you can rarely make out what she's saying). Songwriting often isn't something that plays a big role in grindcore, and I'm generally fine with that - the genre is about ripping riffs and intensity. However, the songwriting is really good here and it's what allows Pollinator to have such strong replay value.

Pollinator is yet another strong volley from Cloud Rat. Asides from the pensive post-rock and twisty sludge of "Luminescent Cellar", most of these songs don't sound that different from each other. However, Cloud Rat triumph through a barrage of powerful and varied riffs. That combined with the force of a songwriter prowess rarely seen in grindcore makes Pollinator a keeper. I'm not going to lie and say I've heard a lot of new grindcore releases this year, but I know this is one I'll be coming back to.