Consummate art punks,
Young Widows combine the creepy intensity of
the Birthday Party, the conceptual brutality of early
Swans, and the avant discord of early-'90s "scum rock" (
the Jesus Lizard et al.) with the try-anything approach of
Black Dice and
Liars. Their second album,
Old Wounds, explodes with overloaded basslines, assaultive vocals, and beyond-distorted guitars, but there's an underlying sense of control here (more obvious on some tracks than on others) that makes the crucial difference between static and statement. ~ Jim Allen