This Volume Junk – Unbound CD

Let’s face it, noise rock is on the rise in recent years, and it’s here to stay. Once a music genre dedicated to those music enthusiasts who favor screeching, noisy, abrasive guitar work, heavily distorted basslines, and hectic rhyhtmic patterns over more traditional alternative rock now gets its well-deserved resurgence, with many old and new bands exploring this sonic universe in the way it deserves: chaotic, powerful, and loud. This Volume Junk, an Italian noise rock quartet based in L’Aquila, has recently released a debut full-length that does proper justice to the genre. Packing eight compositions in somewhat less than half an hour, they not only explore all the aesthetics that made noise rock such an aggressive and entertaining genre but also deliver a fresh and unique perspective on it with such precision and finesse. Surely, there is a certain rawness, abrasiveness, grittines, and chaotic maneuvring that makes this style such an unavoidable destination for all wise music aficionados, but the band also knows how to deal with other genres as well. If you take a deep dive and examine “Unbound” even further, you’ll notice how they incorporated the fundamental elements of noise rock, yet also included some of the finest properties borrowed from post-hardcore and post-punk. Marrying together these additional styles suit them well, as the band levitates and handles unfiltered noise and decent servings of melody altogether like pros, without even sounding predictable, repetitive, or bland. Quite the contrary, This Volume Junk might be one of the finest Italian exports right now, especially in the noise rock universe. Their sound will instantly slap you in the face and then hug you in a friendly way, just like only good-old noise rock should and can.

With the first three compositions, This Volume Junk’s message is loud and clear. They’re here to deliver their music as loud as noisy as possible, but with the intention that many noise rock bands have overlooked over the decades. Instead of pushing their guitars into those almost clean highs by employing expensive EQ pedals, they lean much more towards that oversaturated, heavily distorted, fuzzy sound that is more characteristic of grunge, garage, and stoner bands. The guitars sound as heavy as they should be, delivering all those tasty, catchy, memorable riffs that simultaneously bend time and space, all while catering to even those listeners that favor melodies over noise. Perfectly paired with equally distorted basslines and hectic drumming performance, This Volume Junk creates a perfect soundscape for intense vocals to shine upon. A decent amount of emotion comes from the lead vocalist, who gives his best performance in order to create that tension that makes noise rock so intense. But you’ll also notice songs like “Self Indulgence,” “Etwas,” “Coppito80,” and “Annihilate,” excellent compositions which, besides the dominant noise rock sound, also lean into much calmer, soothing, more melodic waters thanks to the incorporation of only the finest properties borrowed from alternative, grunge, indie, and other similar styles. This Volume Junk delivers those clean, jangly, angular guitar works, more delicate basslines, and well-accentuated, detailed yet equally groovy beats, breaks, and fills during the verses, but also swiftly returns back into good old noise rock realms when necessary. This combination of calm and aggressive segments paired together gives them more dynamics, complexity, melody, and detail, all while the outstanding vocalist plays with particular sentiments, moods, and circumstances. It’s a genuine work of art on full display.

“Unbound” is a modern noise rock masterpiece, crafted by four incredible musicians who love this style from the bottom of their hearts. This Volume Junk is unquestionably one of those bands that you should immediately place on your music radar, because their aggressive, abrasive, passionate, soulful music is something the noise rock scene needed for years. Head to their Bandcamp page to find out more about ordering this gem on compact disc. Do not miss it!