Shortie kick and scream like a demented mental patient deadset on escaping the confines of their straight jacket on this, their second full length effort. Vocals writhing in anger lash out while winding basslines kick and the malicious guitar riffs scream. Building upon the sound the group achieved on their first album "Wipe Your Eyes", they haven't necessarily changed in any drastic manner and instead have re-evaluated their style and adjusted it accordingly. Melodic vocals that are slightly off key, yet animated with vibrant emotion and reckless aggression spread their way over the tracks but never fully reach an even surface, due to being constantly shattered by infuriated screams and maniacal deep throated growls that accompany the innocent worn down verbal tones. Guitars are raunchy with a crunchy distorted sound and downtuned ideals that grind out convulsing rhythms and dementia inducing experimentation. A predatory style is served up with riffs making their moves in bursts and falling back into the shadows, never flaunting excessive power, but still retaining a certain brutality. Bass is tuned a bit low and slams out percussive notes that stick closely to the guitar riffs while thrusting out agitated rhythms. Not so much exploratory, the playing captured here is solid and contains a wealth of authority, fighting its way to be heard and keeping the speakers rumbling. Drums are loose and hammer out hungry beats with off time heroics that demonstrate encompassing kit usage and solid percussive knowledge. Constantly battering with spaces and pauses, the technique used is quite dynamic and jams itself into the music with a spiteful finesse. The groups skill has definitely improved this time around in every aspect, the musicianmanship seems to have been stepped up, and although it can sound a tad rough around the edges at certain moments, the CD is impressively solid as a whole. There's a consistently shifting song structure formula in place that is chaotic, yet tied together tightly with a general progression in place within each song. One thing that shines through on this record is the fact that the band sounds like they feel a bit more comfortable with their style, this statement could easily be reinforced by their choice to cover Portishead's breakout track "Sour Times", warping it into a downbeat sludgy crawl. As such, the time since the last release looks to have been well spent, focused on honing their craft. But on the downside, some listeners may be turned off by the vocally saturated music that is contained here, and in the same regard, the enraged song structures that churn with vicious riffs and sloppy instrumental mechanic's may also have the same undesirable effect. As it stands there's some fiercely heavy tracks here that drip with melody and exude a uniquely creative form of aggro meets emocore with a touch of nu metal. Shortie come close to nailing down their territory on this release which proves they are ready to step up to bat and obliterate the listener. But perhaps "Watching You Drown" isn't the most fitting title as the music present on this CD has enough panicked rage and sheer intensity to be the perfect Soundtrack to unwillingly drown to.
(4 / 5)