Pariah by Among the Rocks and Roots

The availability of the means to destroy ourselves turns guilt into self-loathing, as the brain rebels against the whims of the body. In a return to traditional no wave themes and no wave energy with a fresh take on this influential genre’s sound, Richmond, Virginia’s Among the Rocks and Roots released their new record Pariah, a ninety minute epic that focuses on the band’s daily struggle against relapse. We start with our classic industrial cyclical instrumentals and shouted mantras on this record, but to our surprise there’s still greater intensity to come. Opening up into segments of wider instrumentation and ear-splitting noise, these tracks meander through a misty pathway defined by different shades of anguish, through alternate expressions of the same fundamental image of lashing out at a mirror. Dissonant to the core and deeply committed to discomfort, this album reminds us of all of the worst parts of having a body, riding the waves of our highs and lows as we cave, find resolve, and cave again.