INSIDE NOISE: Artificial Bouquet by Frail Body

Skramz, an extreme version of punk with shrieked vocals, fast tempos, and moody guitar chords, is potentially more popular right now than it's ever been, and no band exemplifies this crossover appeal more than Frail Body. Frail Body's commercial and artistic success continues with their new record Artificial Bouquet, an utterly relentless collection of songs that take warm post-hardcore progressions and beat the living shit out of them. Deeply nihilistic lyrics tell the story of a speaker whose disillusionment with the inhumanity of the world extends inward and vice versa, creating a viscous cycle in which misanthropy and self-loathing reinforce each other. I've always had difficulties enjoying skramz quite as much as other post hardcore subgenres, however, since skramz has this tendency to use dynamic contrast extremely starkly that I find a little less compelling than the gentler, more gradual contrast that we hear in other similar styles, but of course within the framework of skramz Frail Body does a fantastic job. 7/10.

-Michael