Washers
Drown (Independent)

It’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to describing Washers. The band itself offers this on its Facebook page: “Four piece eclectic feedback worship from Vancouver”. That’s not bad, actually, especially the “eclectic” part. On the surface, the quartet’s sound is akin to ’90s spirit-of-Seattle grunge—that’s where the feedback comes in—but that would be too simplistic a definition. There’s also a sense of surging urgency and drama to these songs that recalls emo titans like Sunny Day Real Estate. (Okay, so we’re still in Seattle in the ’90s.)

That’s still not the whole story, though. As noisy as things get, singer garrett k tends to deliver the lyrics in a Morrissey-esque croon—except when he doesn’t, as on “Manleash”, where he lets the dogs out with a throat-shredding howl.

This much is certain: these guys have no qualms about reaching for the epic. For evidence of that, check out this album’s title track, which closes the whole affair in a 12-minute spazz-out of math rock, posthardcore, and sheer noise. It’s pretty great, and will likely leave you with the impression that Washers must be jaw-droppingly good live.