Broken Water
Wrought
Night-People Records
Street: 03.24
Broken Water = Milk Music + Unwound
Broken Water have found that—sometimes droning, sometimes noisy—sweet spot in the wild realm of dream punk. The Olympia three-piece incorporates controlled bouts of sonic (and often political) aggression throughout the lo-fi and ethereal. Broken Water skirt a variety of genres, and throughout, a strong sense of restlessness pervades. Wrought starts off with the shoegaze-y “High-Lo,” in which drummer Kanako Pooknyw’s meditative vocals rush into textured riffs and patches of distortion, before diving into “Wasted,” a fast, angry torrent of Jon Hanna’s sing-shouts. The rest of the album blends subtle dream pop and twangy guitar with the occasional noisy outburst. The closing track, “Beach,” is a hypnotic, 12-minute long stretch of astral vocals and resounding cello. The song builds into a lush soundscape of swirling guitar, pushed forward by steady, muted drums and a cascading melody that dissolves into noise before winnowing back to where the track began. –Kathy Zhou