Drugs - Episodic Review
You’re left with the confidence that Drugs can make one hell of an indie rock album and, given another few years, they’ll do it again.
With over three years in the making and several changes in group composition under their belt, Drugs have released their debut album: Episodic. This ten-track album clocks in at thirty-four minutes, a runtime so densely packed with surprisingly impressive tunes that you wish it was even five minutes longer. Developed over the last few years and perfected by Joel Jasper and J.B. Benzinski during the lockdown period, this feels like the well refined product it should be.
The album launches in to “Try Me”, bringing a vibe reminiscent of the more upbeat tracks of White Denim or King Gizzard’s discography. The guitars and vocals have a bouncy quality to them that only amplifies as the smooth transition between this and its successor leads us to “Joyride”, the second of the album. Decorated with twanging guitar and a catchy bass line that subtly supplements the surrounding music, this track has a vibrant energy that’s explosive in all the right moments to create a song with some real get up and jump along kind of energy.
Where “Joyride” rides the wave of “Try Me”, “Paralyzed” veers away into a slower jam with a more downbeat and discordant vibe. Something about the interplay of guitar and bass here, coupled with Joel Jasper’s singing, all fit in right at home on this track. For my ears, there’s an occasional vocal resemblance to The Guru’s 2014 track “Golden Brown” though it seems as though Drugs have managed to mature that somewhat pubescent sound where precursors had struggled. What surrounds these vocals is a contemplative, almost sad, interlude with drawn out drones of guitar and bass interspersed with the thoughtful percussive spring of drums and more vocals. When this breaks down, seemingly inevitably, Jasper’s vocals reemerge in an emphatic “Fuck!” that leads into the album’s closing moments of guitar wails and drum beats. The ten or so seconds of breathing room at this track’s end lend well to the following “Loose Nut”, which changes direction once again to something much more initially relaxed.
The song twinkles into existence slowly, with a drip feed of a catchy guitar riff as the bass crawls into the fray to provide backing. Over half a minute in, Jasper’s vocals return — now accompanied by a pitched-down distortion effect that recurs every few lines. The track’s explosive moments are powerful, though they leave things a bit lopsided as the slow lane to the climax begins to feel like a momentary lapse in the album’s thus far great momentum. Unfortunately, I’m really unsure whether the song sticks the landing on its final moments. “Mirage” follows, another slower track, with angelic synth effects interspersed throughout the mellow guitars and a great crunchier sound around the one minute and twenty seconds mark. The falsetto here isn’t intrusive the way it is on many projects; instead it provides a welcome juxtaposition with Jasper’s ordinary range. The way this track leans in to its closure, with an ominous synth elevated above the rest of the track and anticipated by snappy percussion, bass, and guitar, is near-perfect too, not even overstaying its welcome. The end result is an almost-spooky ending to another of the album’s more contemplative tracks.
By this stage in the album I was gaining an appreciation for how drum-centric Drugs’ soundscapes are. Where the indie rock precedent often relies on guitar or, more subtly though prevalently, bass, Drugs seem to punctuate their music with drums in a way that feels lacking on many other projects. “Positive Feedback Loop” brings in another mellow twang of guitar that plays along a constant percussive thrum before jumping back into gritty guitar flourishes. There’s buildup in the centre that layers more and more riffing on top of each other before breaking down into a warped and scratchy detour. Then we’re straight back in to rocking guitars with Jasper’s desperate pleas for freedom.
“Evidential” has a reverb-heavy depth to it as it pivots to the relatively unexplored grungier territory of the album. There’s a core bass line here that lends strength to the energetic drums and proud guitar strums. Towards its close the track gets weird, paranoiacally insisting that “I’ve changed, I’m different now” in an unsettling and moody outro that leads perfectly into “Pulling Tissues from the Lobe”. Frenetic drums whittle away at the beginning before dissolving into more vocals. While normally I’d decry “whiny” vocals, Jasper’s perfectly complement the soundscapes throughout this album, with this track acting as a great example of this strength. Similarly dreamy guitar to that on “Positive Feedback Loop” or “Mirage” makes its reappearance in the opening minutes. Soon the track slows, taking a moment to breathe before veering to the dissonant and distorted. The distant vocals add a weirdly ethereal effect to this track’s midsection, granting it a massive sense of scale. While the road out of this song isn’t remarkable by the album’s standards, it’s still executed with competence and skill that lets Drugs stick their landing.
“A Twist of the Stomach”, a rogue upbeat jam, stands as the climactic penultimate track of the album, leaving appropriately-named “Where Does It Go In the End?” as the project’s resolution. The former brings a siren-like sound that’s surprisingly danceable, intercut with mellow guitars, heavier guitars, and arguably the most intense flurry of vocals and guitar we’ve seen on this side of the album. The vocalisations towards its end are pleasant at first, with increasing desperation bleeding in as they progress. Eventually the track moves on in a scratchy flurry of energy before going for a hyperbaton effect on the closing line. The final track, reflective and self-aware, leads the listener out on more of the same sounds that they’ve perfected throughout the project. You’re left with the confidence that Drugs can make one hell of an indie rock album and, given another few years, they’ll do it again. My only wish is that there was a greater diversity of sounds throughout. That said, I’m sure it’s something that they can accomplish in whatever projects follow this — projects I trust are in good hands. What we’re left with for now is Episodic: a refreshing and spectacular, if dense and a touch repetitive, indie rock album among the best to come from the year so far.
