Heavy Heart, No Tears by Baula

Frenzied affirmation waters a thorned vine growing tighter between two lovers’ wrists, forcing them closer as a desperate love sprouts between the cracks of their self-loathing. The new album Heavy Heart, No Tears by Baula agitates these malignant vines, fertilizing them with depression and codependency until the concrete walls of identity come crashing down on the self. A faded post-punk backdrop casts a long, distorted shadow behind gloomy vocals, a voice that follows anthemic melodies but constantly dampens them with its icy tone. From deep in the stereo field, guitars wander in and out of frame, oscillating between post rock tremolo noise and western style distorted riffing, broadening the sonic space to allow the vocals to spread out to massive proportions. These overbearing vocals beg us for validation, screaming out from a depressive void that yearns for love and refuses to look inward to find it. As the album progresses, Baula only digs itself deeper into this pit of despair, offering up their spectacle of self-destruction as a radiantly beautiful cautionary tragedy.