Strange Wilds: Subjective Concepts | Album review

Looking for an album to blast away the cobwebs? You’ve come to the right place.

Hailing from Olympia, Washington – the birthplace of the riot grrl movement and a location steeped in punk-rock lore – Strange Wilds have undoubtedly absorbed the sounds of their north-western environment.

The young trio may be somewhat derivative; echoes of early Nirvana abound in Don't Have To and Autothysis, vocalist Steven Serna's Cobain-esque drawl and the nihilistic "Nothing make sense" refrain of Outercourse – but there's enough energy throughout to overlook their veneration.

Their furious, full-on punk riffage is reminiscent of No Age, while the brash Terrible unexpectedly finds a dark, slinky groove to pause their relentless velocity.

It’s not quite a reinvention of the wheel, but this is refreshingly visceral stuff.