Pupil Slicer‘s debut, Mirrors, was a jagged burst of Grinding Mathcore (complemented with tastefully picked Electronica influences) that caught my ear for its neurotic character. The songs were unpredictable, intense and creative in a way that I loved and it landed near the top of my year end list in 2021. Come 23, my expectations for a follow-up are unfortunately high for more of the same ilk. Blossom is not Mirrors, that much is clear, and it has taken me a few spins to wash away the stark disappointment from hearing the title track when they released it as a single. Rather, this sophomore album sees the band trying to expand their sound with added elements of Pop and Post Hardcore, perhaps because of not being content with people telling them they sound like The Dillinger Escape Plan or like a collection of Mathcore tropes (untrue and unfair respectively, although I am not the best judge of the latter). Mirrors was not great because of its style, but rather because of its varied songwriting. Blossom does its own thing and taken by itself, it is competent and sure to win them more fans than the debut because of its nature.
The experiments Pupil Slicer execute on these songs are successful to a varying degree. Some ideas on the first tracks are good, like the clean vocal refrains offset with pounding intensity of the drums that keep the songs cohesive, tempo shifts and HM2-worshipping groove and Kate Davies‘ increased variety in her vocals (with some deeper growls than before). The production is less cutting than on Mirrors and this is a given with the warmer Post Hardcore riffs added to the mix. But the building blocks do not come together cohesively until “Creating the Devil in Our Image”, where the Post Hardcore, Pop and their previous style of Mathcore freakouts start to gel with a clean vocal moment that complements the song’s intensity well. This song, along with “Terminal Lucidity” and “Blossom” showcase how powerful the combination of these elements can be when done right. My main complaint with this release becomes apparent here. I have no qualms about listening to a more varied and Pop infused Pupil Slicer. But the recent interview they did on Bandcamp suggests that one band-member wants to pull the sound more towards Poppy concept albums and the other wants the Mathcore to remain intense. They are both right but Blossom is not it, they are pulling the seams apart on their sound yet what is to be found within is not coming through properly. As a life-long Nine Inch Nails fan, the interlude “Language of the Stars” piano feels eerily familiar and Davies‘ claimed love for The Downward Spiral intrigues me. “Dim Morning Light” then follows with a Shoegaze like influence that falls flat and kills momentum before the closer. Blossom follows this NIN approach of being expansive but stands on shaking legs when it comes to making all of its parts as compelling as the other. The album (and the song) is a grower yet feels like something of a transitional work. I wish I could like it more but I think a look back at what made Mirrors work could be good for the future, as I find this album less unique than the debut in expression, not more.
