Bloodletter has been one of the most fun albums to come out of 2023. Discovering them as a contemporary of swancore founders Dance Gavin Dance, partially due to late bassist Tim Feerick's involvement in both bands, it was a bittersweet but tributary record to find.
It took a bit to grow on me, but once I got past the initial hurdle of getting used to their style, I got addicted to this album. It really does remind me of how I fell in love with Dance Gavin Dance's music in the first place, and I guess it does have that same touch to it. Wolf & Bear embodies everything so special about swancore but does it in their own way, and within that subgenre they sound worlds apart.
In many ways they are similar to Dance Gavin Dance: the two vocalist setup, the embellishments in the riffwork and drumwork, the genre influences and even some of the lyricism. I realised they resemble early Dance Gavin Dance the most, especially with the soul vocal style of Marcus and the rawer harsh vocal style of Tyler matching up with the pre-Tilian era.
What I love most about them is where they differ from Dance Gavin Dance though. Although most of the cuts on this album wouldn't feel completely out of place on a Dance Gavin Dance album, they'd definitely be the weird one by far. Even songs like K. RESORT and FOOL'S GOLD, that sound the closest to Dance Gavin Dance, still have a distinct sound. I think it boils down to three things: the pacing, the vocals and the funkiness. Wolf & Bear moves around a bit more frantically than Dance Gavin Dance does, there's not a lot of wordless moments and the instrumentals rarely stand alone in the mix. The clean vocals are done quite differently too, there's a lot of production choices that stylise it distinctly, I noticed a lot more background adlibs and vocalisations, a lot more overlaps and echoes. The vocal delivery itself is also a lot more rooted in funk and soul influences, which gives a lot of identity to the songs too. Speaking of funk, the riffs and drum grooves are super funky, whether it's the chorus of QUICK SIP 84, the verses of CHAD B. KANG or the entirety of POOFY, they just got a completely different vibe down on lock.
They've also got a formidable selection of great choruses and great riffs, some that honestly surprised me. The chorus of FOOL'S GOLD and QUICK SIP 84 was were instant hits, PAINTED LADY's chorus took my breath away and the choruses of K. RESORT of CHAD B. KANG are just sexy. The riffs underlying the choruses of FOOL'S GOLD and QUICK SIP 84 are so tasteful, the guitarwork for POOFY is so dreamy and summer-y and the dissonance on BONSAI B. is undoubtedly fun.
To put it simply, Bloodletter is an excellent album from the swancore side of the world. I'm amazed at what else this genre still has to offer for me, even though I've already soaked myself in the entire discography of Dance Gavin Dance for so long already. Wolf & Bear really stole the show this time around, and it looks like I'm a fan now.
Rating: 9/10