ALBUM REVIEW: Aseethe - "Hopes of Failure"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 24/02/2017

Label: Thrill Jockey Records

“Hopes of Failure” is sparse and minimal yet packed with detail and intricacies, like Yob and Unearthly Trance stripped of their psychedelic tendencies to let the raw oppressive riffs do the talking.  Aseethe have crafted a slow-burning masterpiece that reveals more with each listen. Every spin increases the pull of its hypnotic spell and leaves you with no option but to submit to its crushing power.

“Hopes of Failure” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Sever The Head

2). Towers of Dust

3). Barren Soil

4). Into The Sun

The Review:

Thrill Jockey Records continue to bolster the impressive heavy end of their roster in 2017 with the latest LP from Iowa trio Aseethe. “Hopes of Failure” sounds destined to follow in the footsteps of label mates Sumacand The Bodyand bother many an end of year list in eleven months’ time.

Over the course of four lengthy tracks the band entrances the listener with their distinct brand of bleak doom. It is sparse and minimal yet packed with detail and intricacies, like Yob and Unearthly Trance stripped of their psychedelic tendencies to let the raw oppressive riffs do the talking. Vocals are kept to a minimum, carefully deployed when necessary for maximum impact such as the pained howls that accompany the snail-paced downward spiral into misery at the climax of “Barren Soil”. Aseethe eschew vocals entirely on “Towers Of Dust”. Instead they focus on aggressive riffage that slowly degenerates into a jerky discordant locked groove reminiscent of Harvey Milkat their most awkward.

The band offer some glimmers of light in amongst the gloom. The middle of “Sever The Head” breaks down to clean picked guitar that brings a hint of Slint-style dark post-hardcore to proceedings. This leads to a passage of restrained heaviness that packs as much of a punch as the punishing riffs that bring the track to a head.

On “Hopes Of Failure”, Aseethe have crafted a slow-burning masterpiece that reveals more with each listen. Every spin increases the pull of its hypnotic spell and leaves you with no option but to submit to its crushing power. 

“Hopes of Failure” is available to buy/preorder here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook