Description
Gouge Away – “Deep Sage” LP
The Florida band finally graduate to a third full-length. Where the debut album, Dies, of 2015 was a straight ahead fast hardcore recording, the 2018 follow-up, Burnt Sugar, now feels like a transitional record that enabled the band to arrive at where they are at now with this new album, Deep Sage. The mix of Dischord/Fugazi and Pixies influences have bedded in even more (they even covered the Pixies “Wave Of Mutilation” on their 7″ EP of 2020, Consider), and now everything sounds more considered and better constructed. Fine-tuned with some fine tunes. Of the three albums this is the one. Christina Michelle’s intense vocal delivery has always sounded great, but on Burnt Sugar they sometimes felt a little at odds with the instrumental foundations of the song. Whereas Deep Sage is a fully realised beast of an album, with vocals and instruments uniting perfectly into a cohesive whole. Delivering – with lush singing and shouting – some of the finest songs of recent years. End track, “Dallas” is the evidence that provides the proof, beyond all doubt.
