The Double Doghouse

hello folks! this week for the weekly review, we’re taking a look at electronic music artist Sewerslvt’s Draining Love Story, released in 2020.

Love Is a Mighty Big Word opens the record – the kind of empty, cavernous vibe that makes up the first half of the song is an incredibly effective foil to the chaotic, frantic energy of the second half of the track. an effective microcosm of the record, imo. for some releases, it looks like the second track, Newlove, is left off, likely due to issues with the It Takes Two sample. which, i dunno, that feels like a bummer, partially because it plays a smaller part in the track overall and partically because it is fairly transformed in the way it’s used. and i really dig the back half of this track, especially after the little vocal sample transition. Yandere Complex keeps an incredibly frenetic pace, but i think the periods of comparatively tranquil moments help create an interesting contrast – there’s a fun bit like, 2 minutes in after the gibberish talk trails off, the drums cut out, and the soft vocal sounds make it feel like floating, and then the drums slip back in to help feel like you’re being carried by a current. interesting bits of movement there. Ecifircas made me feel dumb on two different counts – a) the title is “sacrifice” backwards. b) when checking to see if it was like, an allusion to mythology or, like is used on the next track, a medication, i was reminded that the vocal samples here are Clay Puppington from Moral Orel. dunno why i didn’t make that connection! using his rant to lead into the first drop of the track is very good. Lexapro Delirium feels almost jubilant and peaceful here, though given the title i wager it’s not peace it’s meant to evoke. This Fleeting Feeling opens with a sound bite of a therapist and patient discussing a suicide attempt before slipping into an incredibly empty, open sounding experience – the way it cuts back to the sobbing of the patient at the end is like a gut punch. Swinging In His Cell references Ricky Kasso, which was a story i was unfamiliar with before looking into the track. p solid track. Mr. Kill Myself looks like Sewerslvt’s most popular track, and i can see why. the first parts of the track create a slow, steady build, and near the end of the song, around after 5:00, are able to do a really interesting overlay of the smoother, spacier synths that have been mixing with the frantic drums for most of the track with an intenser, more aggressive sound. very fascinating song. Down the Drain’s pretty good. Slowdeath is a very effective kind of denouement – a quiet release valve as we reach the end of the record.

faves – Mr. Kill Myself
dislikes –

this was quite an intense record, musically and thematically. i don’t have tons of experience listening to electronic music that uses frantic percussion like breakcore, jungle, or drum & bass, but i did enjoy this record quite a bit musically. there’s a lot moving between feeling isolated and feeling overwhelmed, between pushing through almost basking in it. really excellent percussion throughout, and the mixing and layering was really really strong. thematically, there’s a lot here tackling mental health, with suicidal thoughts, with otherness and alienation from the self and tracks that deal directly with sewerslvt relationship to the world as a trans individual. on the whole, this is a very open, very honest, very raw record.

Draining Love Story – 7/10

support the band by checking this release out on Bandcamp

for the next Weekly Album Review, i’ll be listening to Class of Cardinal Sin, by Covey. i’ll be back next Friday, November 10th with that review and to pick another weekly record, and in the meantime, let me know what album you’d like me to review! (i pool all suggestions in one place, and draw a person, then one pick from that person, so feel free to drop as many as you’d like! if you leave an email or username i’ll contact you when i’ve gotten through all your suggestions.)