Um, we think we may have already stumbled upon one of our most favorite records of 2024 already??? At the very least, the newest from Heave Blood & Die has already caused us to start our ‘Best of ’24’ drafts list fairly early. We like Burnout Codes so much that it’s one of those records where we’re hesitant to listen to it too much right now for fear of getting sick of its’ brilliance (And we’ve already listened to it a LOT) but honestly, we don’t foresee that happening anytime soon. Or maybe we’re just repeating that to ourselves because we can’t stop listening to it???
Anyway! There’s a LOT happening on Burnout Codes and with its’ FFO (Also known as “For Fans Of”, kids!) section mentioning Viagra Boys, IDLES, and Killing Joke our interest was already piqued without hearing a note. But the notes within are so much more than those comparisons. Sure, there’s that barking cadence that vocalist Karl Løftingsmo Pedersen offers in the same way that IDLES do and the post-punkness of it all could easily bring the mighty Killing Joke to mind. But there’s so much more to it all! BAIT comes to mind. So does Queens of the Stone Age. Even the zaniness of Stan Ridgway and his more Electro-focused projects like Drywall have a place here. Or Eddie Japan to an extent if we wanna keep it local.
However, the overlying theme throughout the latest from Heave Blood & Die is diversity because at its’ core, Burnout Codes is a cornucopia of cacophony that is, from our perspective at least, the first must listen of 2024.
It all starts with “Dog Days” that’s got all the bite to back up that incessant bark from Pederson who’s surrounded by a flurry of Eivind André Imingen’s bouncing bass and Kenneth Mortensen’s riotous percussive onslaught as Marie Sofie Mikkelsen’s lush vocal harmonies intertwine with Pederson’s abrasiveness and the guitars from Jonas Helgesen Kuivalainen (And Pederson) electrify. “Men Like You” is kind of magical with the way Mortensen’s brash bombast enters with Imingen’s bass in hot pursuit before Mikkelsen’s serene synthetic symphony turns what would be just a regular rawker into a gargantuan mover and shaker and then “Hits” is all that and then some featuring a hypnotic vocal attack to accent the squall of sonics being hurled at your earholes.
“Stress City” is subdued but no less substantial with the sonic attack it brings and then “Mjelle” is similarly hallucinatory and epic as Mikkelsen builds a veritable wall of synth akin to the aforementioned Drywall or even Klaxons with the way it majestically mystifies set to a Rawk background. “Things That Hurt” careens into a more straight up Rawk aesthetic but even still manages to swerve and sway in and out of expected lanes for a more elaborate experience until the thumping pulsations of “HEATWAVE 3000” meander in and lay out another commanding vocal performance from Pederson. “Seen It All” is where it all culminates while simultaneously illuminating how rad Heave Blood & Die can be even when ending in such a sobering way as this.
Burnout Codes lands on January 26th through Fysisk Format Records. You can pre-order your copy now by heading here and here. For the latest from Heave Blood & Die, follow them across ye olde socials by clicking here, here, or here.