Cheerfully finishing their year as they began, in a howl of dissonant feedback and cavernous reverb, Buzzhowl Records’ final announcement of 2019 (the record actually drops in January 2020) is typically brilliant. It marks the end of a particularly exciting first year for a young label, Buzzhowl having only appeared late last year with the still-awesome Buzzhowl Volume 1, and it seems fitting that the label would conclude their efforst by announcing the debut release from a fresh new prospect – New Zealand’s Masks, a secretive solo project that manages to cover a great deal of sonic territory in just eight short minutes.
Captivating from the moment it starts, Our Weekend Starts Tomorrow is a post-punk nightmare filtered through twenty-first century production techniques, drawing on the likes of The Cure, Gary Numan, Nine Inch Nails and OK Computer-era Radiohead. With its clean, almost robotic vocals and aching melodies welded to a proto-industrial chassis turbo-charged by prowling bass and dense, industrial percussion, Our Weekend Stats Tomorrow is deliberately kept short, allowing each element to gain maximum impact without overstaying its welcome. In short, it’s a pretty fantastic first impression. The B Side, Broken Glass, is an altogether subtler piece built around sanguine drones and cut-glass lead in a manner reminiscent of Sigur Ros and Mogwai. Hauntingly beautiful, it adds to the over-crowded post-rock firmament by virtue of the sheer depth of emotion it evokes, and it provides the perfect comedown after the explosive lead track.
With strong production, a plethora of ideas and sweet artwork, Our Weekend Starts Tomorrow is pretty much the first essential purchase of 2020, and you can already stream it at Birthday Cake Breakfast. Check it out, get your copy purchased – this is one hell of a debut. 8.5
