Record Review: Cursive - Mama, I'm Swollen

For Atlanta Music Guide:

Cursive
Mama, I’m Swollen
Saddle Creek

By Julia Reidy

The seminal Omaha band’s seventh full-length record seems almost made to be listened to in terms of pacing. It’s like an amusement park ride, quick and thrilling at times, but slowing suddenly, menacingly, right before a breathtaking plunge. When it relaxes, it does so via slowing tempo and dropping volume, but also through dramatic stylistic shifts. Compare the breathy, plodding delivery of “We’re Going To Hell” with the jaded wail of “Mama, I’m Satan,” or with the synthy groove/soaring anthem of “Let Me Up.” Opener “In The Now” rockets right out of the gates with warped guitars and the refrain, “Don’t want to live in the now, don’t want to know what I know.” Throughout the record, angst-filled vocals meet bendy guitar melodies — they alternate between pitch perfect and precise, and warped and atonal. Tracks are sometimes broken by noise-maker effects and creepy instrumentals, never letting the listener get too comfortable...[Read more]

[MP3] Cursive - "From The Hips"