Washer
All Aboard
Exploding in Sound Records [2017]
Who: Brooklyn duo, Kieran McShane and Mike Quigley, expand and improve their sound with this excellent sophomore effort.
Sound: All Aboard builds off Washer’s solid debut and ends up being one of the best post-grunge albums of 2017.
TFN Final Take: I was already a Washer fan. I liked their debut well enough as well as their split singles with Big Ups and Flagland. However, I did not have All Aboard on my radar. Sometimes I am bogged down, tracking too many bands that I cannot see the forest through the trees.
All that changed when I heard a preview of the third single from All Aboard, “Bass 2” via Exploding in Sound’s Soundcloud feed. I preordered the LP instantly.
As much as I love “Bass 2,” it is not even the best track on All Aboard. It is one of many best tracks on this 15-song slice of post-grunge heaven. I honestly cannot pick a favorite. “Elbow”, “Lyin’,” “Tooth & Fist,” “Wet Nails,” and “Everybody Sounds Fake” are constantly fighting for my attention. “The Crow” is an absolute stunner. I have not heard that many shifts in short song since Guided By Voices’ “Break Even.”
Washer’s sound fits in comfortably on Exploding in Sound’s current roster of incredible bands. It can be twisting and bending sounds similar to Grass is Green and Fat History Month and cataclysmic and edgy angst not unlike Pile and Big Ups. Along with these contemporary comparisons, I hear a lot of 90’s-era grunge/punk in their sound.
All Aboard is a wonderfully catchy rocker that should not be ignored.
Washer Website
Washer Facebook
Exploding In Sound Records
– Reviewed by Daniel Taylor
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