Dense: Abjection EP Review

By Jon Milton

'Like a punishment beating but one that I’ve asked for'. So said Phil Taggart of BBC Radio 1 when he sat on the ‘Come Play With Me’ panel that selected Dense, a statement that perfectly describes the music that the band make, and one that the band themselves were delighted to hear.
 
Dense’s debut EP ‘Abjection’ is released today, comprised of four wonderfully bruising tracks that simultaneously pummel your senses whilst satisfying your eardrums. The EP’s title describes ‘a bleak and heavyhearted state of mind through subjective suffering’ with each track a short story and a ‘shared narrative of anthropological torment’. In our interview with the band earlier this week, the band elaborated on these themes:  

‘Lyrically, the main theme of the EP is tying together short stories telling different narratives on individuals going through suffering. Some songs are more abstract than others such as Dread… focusing more on mental suffering whereas Cleanse/Despair was inspired by Charlie’s tour around the death camps in Siem Reap which are on display, showcasing the atrocities that occurred during the Cambodian Genocide in the 70s’.

Abjection kicks off at pace with ‘Calcium’, a song that properly assaults the senses and sets the tone for the rest of the EP. Dread follows, slowly building into crescendo before launching into ‘Electric Chair’ which appeared last month on the ‘Come Stay With Me’ compilation by Come Play With Me. The EP concludes with Cleanse/Despair, a Sabbath-esque juggernaut. Glorious noise this may be, but beneath that wall of sound there are subtle melodies playing out, that show the band’s song-writing depth and leave you wanting more.

​Abjection is out now. You can buy the EP and a really cool t-shirt at their bandcamp page here.