sace6
brutalist
Sumerian Records
Remember an age when the division separating metal and R&B was clearly defined and it seemed never the twain would meet? Thankfully, walls have been tumbling with different styles colliding as if particles in a nuclear reactor, and in the case of sace6, the results are explosive. Formed in 2024 by New York/New Jersey natives Noah Thomas and sace., they aren’t so much fusing genres, more forcing them together and the result is akin to two magnets repelling each other; the more they try to pull apart, the more inextricably entwined they become. It is from this reaction that their debut album brutalist derives much of its power; it’s a juxtaposition between the velveteen and visceral, the loud verses the lithe, and the soulful pitted against the surgical. It’s these opposites and how they interact which makes this album such an engaging listen with moments of ethereal beauty rudely shattered by passages of awe-inspiring heaviness. Of course, these aren’t just randomly cobbled sounds, sace6 prove themselves master alchemists and know the optimum moment when to switch things up. The musical poles around which brutalist swirls can be disorientating, but therein lies its magic and it’s never knowing in what guise sace6 will appear that makes brutalist such an engaging listen.
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Review by Peter Dennis.