Jivebomb – Ethereal | Album Review

Ethereal is a petrol bomb of sonic viscera that comically juxtaposes the angelic and soft connotations of its title.

Underpinned by a no-frills, classic hardcore punk sound, marked by driving drum grooves and riffs reminiscent of bands like Floorpunch and The Rival Mob, Ethereal introduces a heightened form of aggression by escalating its use of samples and genre-splicing explored on Primitive Desires. Ethereal is an authentic exploration into industrial, noise, and hip hop motifs, drawing comparisons to Code Orange and Gridiron.

This experimentation is far from elementary. Ethereal represents a band that has transitioned out of its infancy, committed in both intent and delivery. The polish and refinement of this LP are undoubtedly aided by producer Ben Greenburg, from industrial act Uniform, whose influence can be felt throughout the record. Vocalist Kat Madeira unrelentingly spits venom with savage intent, her snarled growls and shouts slicing through the instrumentation and fuzzed samples. Her vocals, ranging from chilling highs to dread-inducing lows, remain one of the standout features of the LP. The tracks on Ethereal include re-released versions of demos, the with the LP versions bringing a denser, layered grit to the tracks. Notably, Maderia‘s screams have evolved into growls, which now take on a more primal bite.

On each listen, Ethereal reveals new elements that were initially hidden beneath what might have seemed like a more straightforward hardcore sound. The LP is wrapped up in just 15 minutes, presenting itself as a promising representation of modern hardcore bands and their willingness to fuse multi-genre influences with classic hardcore elements. The result is an album that is both fun to listen to and somewhat accessible, with new samples emerging from seemingly dormant spaces, making the LP compulsively replayable. Ethereal opens with a distorted mass of industrial fuzz, subverting expectations and laying the groundwork for the tracks ahead. Lyrically, the LP explores themes of societal violence stemming from a lack of personal accountability, hometown pride, yearning, and hate – all woven together in a fierce assault of noise.

The tracklist on Ethereal takes you on a destructively heavy journey with an industrial glaze that somehow manages to keep it its bouncy overtone that Jivebomb are known for. Hip hop sentimentality is baked deep into ‘Survival Ain’t Taught’, through the infectiously swaggered main riff that snakes through classic hardcore soundscapes produced from pummelling tom grooves and visceral growls and shouts. This track is unbridled fun to its core, and is refreshingly straightforward in its delivery. The lax hip hop beats faze into the drawn out distorted note and building tom fills of ‘Wise Choice’, a call to action that launch into this Terror-esque track. Again, the main riff on this weaves throughout heavy instrumentation and presents a catchy hook that listeners can really latch onto – perfectly suited to a live setting. 

‘Fates Domain’ and ‘Rhythm Zero’ come together to form a cataclysmic duo that blends spin-kick pit music with downtuned, doomy fuzzed riffs and industrial samples. Together, they create a deliciously evil-sounding section of the album. The presentation is primitive and raw, with the drums on ‘Fates Domain’ closing the track by clanging and tearing through the space like scrap metal being slammed together. The highly anticipated rework of ‘Charm’ sees Jivebomb doing what they do best: bouncing riffs that swagger across a bed of classic punk drum grooves and rattling fills. The cymbal work on this track accentuates the launch into each section, driven even harder by isolated sections and whiplash-inducing tempo changes.

The formidably evil-sounding ‘Mistaken’ marks the latter side of the album. This track is an all out onslaught of teeth grinding noise which builds into a punishing breakdown at the minute mark. The background echoed calls that pepper the track really exacerbate the tone of dread and create a launch pad for the next two heavy hitters. ‘Seraphim (Marina’s Song)’ into ‘Disfigured Identity’ snaps you into its jaws and tears through the remaining minutes of the LP, closing out with a masterclass in how seemingly primitive sound design can be digitally manipulated to conjure a tangibly immersive atmosphere within sound design.

Jivebomb‘s Ethereal is unrelentingly in your face, a battering ram of noise that that begs you to explore its multi-layered intricacies- clawing you in to its infectious whirlwind.