Hailing from Ipswich, Britain's
Basement make muscular, lyrical noise-rock influenced by a handful of '90s American guitar bands from
Dinosaur Jr. to
Braid. In 2012, despite a growing fan base that found them touring the States that year in support of their sophomore album,
Colourmeinkindness,
Basement announced they were going on an indefinite hiatus. By the end of 2013, however, there was enough of a ground swell of support to bring the band out from hiding, resulting in their well-received 2014 EP
Further Sky. Resuscitated from the dead with more energy than ever,
Basement are in perfect form for their third full-length, 2016's power-packed
Promise Everything. Produced by Sam Pura, who also helmed
Colourmeinkindness,
Promise Everything builds upon that album's guitar-heavy emotionality with tracks that trade hardcore punk edginess for soaring melodicism, and white noise for nuanced slabs of harmonic fuzz. Tracks like the lead-off "Brother's Keeper" and "Lose Your Grip" bring to mind a mix of bands like
Sebadoh and
Mudhoney. Part of what makes
Basement's sound so appealing is lead vocalist Andrew Fisher, who surfs the top of his bandmates guitar tsunami with an impassioned croon. It's just that perfect combination of sludgy, distorted noise and Fisher's glassy vocal warmth that helps make cuts like "Aquasun" and "For You the Moon" immediately infectious, lovelorn anthems. Elsewhere, cuts like "Oversized" and "Halo," with their languid, slow-churning rhythms and harmonized vocals, evince the snore core of
Low and
Red House Painters. Ultimately, with
Promise Everything,
Basement return from the brink of oblivion and deliver an album that more than lives up to its title. [A Deluxe Edition added four bonus tracks.] ~ Matt Collar