It’s been a while since I managed to get a submission review on my writing schedule, mostly since I was so focused on working on the “Ghone” showcase and trying to hunt down some names for future interviews. The latter bit is going relatively slow at the moment, but some of the planned interviewees I’ll be extremely proud to host on here. Just have to stay patient and time will tell!
Wolf Shaped Clouds (bandcamp page)
Wolf Shaped Clouds was a 4-piece screamo band from Budapest, Hungary, active from early 2011. up until 2013. These years might not be the most accurate, since bandcamp states 2011. as the year of their conception, while their discography tape lists 2009. as their beginning. In any case, they had a fruitful run in those few years, chugging out a nice selection of works including this demo and a rehearsal room recording, two splits (one with “Black Hourglass” and another with “Oaken”, respectively) and they were also featured on the “Swollen Lungs” 7’’ compilation, which is a selection of artists featuring songs less than 30 seconds. Short, but sweet.
This release was not a blog submission per se, but instead an actual gift from Tomi, the band’s vocalist. Back in 2011 I was staying at a friend’s apartment in Budapest (hi Botond, hope you’re still out there!), a place where Tomi was also living at the time. We didn’t really hang out all that much, but after some music talk the name of his band popped up, which I thought sounded super cool. Turns out it was screamo which made it a complete hit with me, obviously. Long story short, I walked away from that conversation with a neatly packed CD pictured above and I was extremely excited to take a listen.
Apparently, only 50 physical copies of this demo were made, judging by the handwritten number at the back of the case. Aside of the wonderful little black and white booklet with lyrics, the audio contents of this CD are everything you would ever want to hear from a screamo band's demo, a raw, passionate, perfectly imperfect collection of debut songs that just hit hard and ask questions later. Its five songs are fused in such a way that they simply call out to be listened in one sitting, with one breath. It’s a whirlwind sweeping you off your feet with the very first song and carrying you all the way to the end, relentlessly. And it is only when the final song ends that you get a chance to catch your breath and contemplate on what you just heard. I think that is why my favorite song on the demo would probably be the first track, “Rotting Sea”, simply because it sucks you in and sets the tone so well.
The overall sound of the band is a strongly compressed amalgam of aggressive “Loma Prieta” outbursts, melodic “Raein” strings and at times the pounding beats of chaotic German influences from bands like “Danse Macabre”. Add to the whole mix some very bleak, almost crust-like lyrics performed with an exceptionally haunting wailing scream and you got yourself a package which you shouldn’t avoid.
What I always associated with this band was that pure passionate energy which always seemed to radiate from their releases. You could listen to them regardless of your mood and they would always manage to get your blood flowing. In all honesty, this is something that I severely miss with some of the bands today and that’s why I guess that bands like “Wolf Shaped Clouds” need to be cherished. They popped out of nowhere and brought something great to the table. It saddens me that they didn’t have a longer run at this project, it would have been an absolute pleasure to watch them grow and evolve.
At the end of the day, this is a great little release and a definitive invitation to listen to the rest of the band’s discography. You can find them in their entirety on the above linked bandcamp page. Hope you give them a listen, they deserve it!
