Looks like end of May / start of June is going to be an amazing month for new releases.

First up is the debut album from Abrasive Trees called Light Remaining. This is a band I’ve been following since hearing the debut single in 2020. From those early days only Matthew Rochford on guitar and vocals remains and I have been really looking forward to this.

No Solace opens with a solemn spoken word section before exploding around 90 seconds in a wall of drums and guitar.

There is a slow, glacial tempo to a lot of the tracks with a dense almost claustrophobic atmosphere which the spoken vocals accentuate.

However, the first of two instrumentals, Star Sapphire, positively bounces along on a pulsing bass line before slowing down for some monolithic riffing and then picking up the tempo again.

The first single, Carved Skull, welcomes back former band member Ben Roberts and his electric cello to stunning effect. “Are we divided?” asks the band as the music fades out before the voices. The backing vocals of Yunala Songweaver are a great addition to both this track and Flickering Flame.

The final album track I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You is an 11-minute instrumental epic in three parts. It starts at a stately pace with mournful cello to the fore. A staggering change of pace takes the track into an absolute post-rock maelstrom sweeping you up in a clattering crescendo with thunderous drumming. Pausing to take breath, the final third  tempo allows Matthew to weave some extraordinary guitar virtuosity. 

There is a bonus track, Megadrone, but I’m not sure there is a need for another largely spoken word track, and I would have left I Didn’t Mean to Hurt You to end the album.

Just to say the artwork for the album and the two singles from Grebo Gray is also perfect, giving the band a strong visual identity. 

A brilliant album to start a run of new releases this month.