Floodwater Angel "Dungeon Crawlers (Guide to the Cool)"
Review by: Dani Erin, Writer @danierinmusic
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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I adore how Dungeon Crawlers (Guide to the Cool) plays with rhythmic changes, it gets you amped and then it takes it down 50 notches. It becomes molasses, letting you hang there until it musically smashes a guitar right in front of your face. The lead singer is never the lead, it's never the same voice. It's like opening a box of cracker jacks and never getting the same prize.
From the very start you know Dungeon Crawlers (Guide to the Cool) will be taking you on a sonic journey, one that’s unknown yet somehow familiar. The deep cuts of guitar licks instantly transports you to a mood of your choosing, for me it’s when you are walking and it suddenly starts raining. The second track “Dread Emperor” is the rainbow after the sudden downpour.
From high intensity to a soft whisper in your ear, Floodwater Angel isn’t a one trick pony. Each track will expand upon your first instinct that Floodwater Angel is very well rounded, drawing in the listener and enticing them to dive deeper into the album. What I personally enjoy the most is the small breaks within their heavy instrumentals, allowing the vocals to stand alone. This is no small feat. It is like they know you might get lost and then a breathy angelic voice pierces through, offering a port in the storm. This band really knows how to hit the ground running, but also how to play with delicate transitions.
“Linked Materia” feels like a stroll on the Venice boardwalk. It's got a west coast edge from a different era, floaty and easy. When I am listening to this song I feel like I am wearing rose colored sunglasses watching skateboarders drift into the California sunset.
Where Floodwater Angel really shines is track four, “Because of Winn-Dixie.” If all the other tracks didn't convince you, this track will bring your heart to the ground. A lump will form in your throat as you recall all past lovers that are now a distant memory. A torn t-shirt of theirs you still wear to sleep, a coffee mug you pour hot beverages in every morning. Do not be tempted to send them a message, what is in the past is there for a reason, but if you listen to this song you just might.
“Doom Scroller” pairs perfectly with a flask of cheap whiskey and a Chevrolet El Camino (don't drink and drive kids). I felt like I was cruising the backroads of Texas, mascara running down my face, with flooding thoughts of “I should have been an extra in Kill Bill but that ship has sailed and it will always be my greatest regret.”
The final track “She Doesn't Have the Guts” will leave you hanging on to see what is next for Floodwater Angel. From this song they could jump in any direction. The guitar in this song has just as much to say as the vocals.
Young poets sprinkling words into heavy instrumentals, 1990’s nostalgia of teenage angst trying to navigate a confusing world. At least when I listen to Dungeon Crawlers (Guide to the Cool) I know I am not alone.
