Cherubs - Immaculada High (Album Review)

 

Cherubs - Immaculada High

(2019)


My copy: 2019 press by Relapse Records.


After making their post-90s comeback in 2015, Austin’s Cherubs sought to double down on the noise with 2019’s Immaculada High. While the album delivers some of their catchiest and spaceist moments, the production leaves a lot to be desired. 

Cherubs accrued a cult following for their 90s noise-rock duology where things were sloppy, unhinged but distinctly ferocious. They haven’t lost their sense of energy, but something in the mix has muddied the message. “Turista” starts with bass drum and snare, everything inhales for a second before waves of dense guitar topple over the drums with churning sludge chords. The vocals are as piercing and unintelligible as ever, though they are the main melodic component given that the guitars are utterly washed out. The immense crunch of distortion is powerful, but there is virtually no range and the sound is rather flat as a result. “18 The Number” has more frantic vocals, like a doom sludge version of Hot Snakes though most riffs are lost to noise. 

“Sooey Pig” was the lead single, and its mid-tempo grooves can be quite addicting. It has the most traditional choruses of the record, with loud booming tom drums. “Tigers In The Sky” is mostly tension as the drums unleash never ending waves of kick and cymbals. They end songs creatively with looped noises sequencing tracks together, but much of the structure is simple. Things are stripped down for “IMCG” where the vocals howl and sing with reverb over the same looped drum beat. The track gets more psychedelic as tremolo guitars fill the recording with layers of effects, the drums continuing endlessly even as everything boils over. 

Some neat diseased-sounding melodies peek out on “Old Lady Show” but the song’s pace picks up, leaving the riffs in the dust. “Breath U Can See” brings back the singing now accompanied by sleigh bells. The drums collapse into lo-fi distortion before wheezing feedback bleeds into “Cry Real Wolves.” Though the tempo stays the same, urgency is injected via climbing guitar and bass chords. “Pacemaker” is a bit faster but abruptly cuts short making it seemingly unnecessary. “Full Regalia” is more of the same, though the most interesting part is at the end when everything cuts out to a delayed feedback atmosphere. “Nobodies” ends the album and starts off sounding like a classic Cherubs song given its visceral energy. Psych influence takes over partway through, as searing guitars cut the most discernible melodies of the whole album, causing the track to stand out. The whole track feels like it’s on the verge of tearing itself apart until it finally concludes. 

While a revival for this niche sludge/noise is exciting for those who will explore their back catalog, Immaculada High mostly suffers from incoherent writing and mixing. Sure, the early Cherubs records were loud as hell and chaotic, but they had standout shifts in structure and even sloppy but fun guitar melodies. Perhaps some would counter by saying “that’s the point” but it certainly wasn’t what drew me to the band originally. A future Cherubs release that puts more emphasis on concocting a tighter sound could be something truly powerful.

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