States Of Nature – Songs To Sway LP (Engineer Records / Sell The Heart Records / Public World Records)

Here’s another good record that recently arrived thanks to our dear friends at Engineer Records. I awaited this one with anticipation, mainly because I was instantly hooked on this band since I heard them. States Of Nature come from San Francisco, and feature members of “Dead To Me” and “Everybody Row.” So far, the band has released a couple of recordings, such as the Collide-A-Scope EP, So It Goes EP, Light And Seed EP, and a single named Carry Along. Their album, Songs To Sway, collects all the beforementioned recordings, so basically, this full-length release also serves as a cross-section of their current discography. Songs To Sway came out last year by Engineer Records, Sell The Heart Records, and Public World Records, but I think it’s worth mentioning on our pages even today, over half of a year after its initial release.

The press release stated their music resonates with some Dischord Records vibes mixed with modern melodic punk rock and indie rock., but to me, their music sound like a perfectly executed post-punk. Of course, you’ll hear some properties of Dischord bands, melodic punk rock, and indie rock, but there are some surprising interruptions of noise rock and art-punk implemented to highlight these superb songs even more. States Of Nature are not escaping from some post-hardcore maneuvers either, so Songs To Sway sounds like a comprehensive amalgam of complementary music genres assembled to work together in harmony. Of course, everything sounds even better with experienced musicians, who gave their best while writing, composing, and recording these tracks. You’ll be, without any doubt, blown away by their creativeness, innovativeness, and uniqueness.

By looking at this material as a whole, Songs To Sway blends the best from both worlds. You have energetic, powerful post-punk/noise rock/punk rock tracks on one side and more cathartic, moderate post-punk/indie numbers on the other. Also, you’ll get the impression that this material starts with powerful, dynamic tracks and slowly descends into much slower and darker waters. The band arranged the entire tracklist by dynamics where all the energetic songs are at the beginning of an album, but you’ll stumble upon a couple of bangers later on as well. Still, each composition sounds superb, with a surprising amount of impressive ideas and orchestrations. The ideas demonstrated by the continuously dueling guitars contribute to the uniqueness of this record the most, but there are also clever arrangements that define each song. Of course, post-punk wouldn’t sound interesting without thoughtfully assembled basslines and excellent drumming performance, and this band possesses a mind-blowing rhythm section. Songs To Sway is a collection of recordings you definitely need to hear. Head over to Engineer Records, Sell The Heart Records, or Public World Records for more information about ordering.