With hints of jazz intertwined with their fuzzy, echoing guitar progressions, The Mighty Orchid King achieves a sound that is as if you were to take new-age jazz, combine it with the psychedelic era of the 1960’s, and throw in aspects of Tame Impala’s alternative rock. The lyrics being sung tell a transcendental story inspired by Nan Shepherd’s “The Living Mountain”. Greeting listeners with a warm, full-bodied brass section and strong percussion, the song begins with a bang then backs down to introduce shaman-like vocals delivered by the singing-drummer, Jonny Bennett. It’s painful, uncomfortable but god damn spectacular.Their newest hit, “Two Trees Tangled Together” is just one of the many songs that showcase how this band has perfected their lively soundscape. It’s a rough, but supremely well crafted emotional tour de force which kicks you down and never lets go for the short 25 minute runtime. S/T is one of the greatest screamo records of the 21st century, perhaps even ever. Each track is delivered with throat shredding rage and an orchestra of blaring guitars and drums that almost mix with lead singer Jayson Green’s lyrics and vocals to create an ominous hellish tone that satiates throughout the record and indeed the rest of the discography. The group attack their own popularity and the underground scene in general on ‘No, We Don’t Have Any T-Shirts’ and ‘Loft Party’, violence in the screamo scene on ‘I Wanna Fight’ and the corruption of the justice system on ‘We Love Prison’. ‘Let’s Commodify Sexuality’ and ‘A Visit From Dr Goodsex’ portray a timid, shy view on sex but with a sort of openness and freeness that’s rather unexpected from a group as ferocious and powerful as Orchid. The group tackle a variety of topics, all messily wrapped up underneath a wall of noise. There’s ominous and threatening instrumentals (‘Trail Of The Unknown Body’, ‘Impersonating Martin Rev’), more traditional emo (‘Class Pictures’, ‘Anais Nin by Numbers’), almost noise rock (‘We Love Prison!’) to blaring chaotic powerviolence (‘Flip The Tape’). From the two part opener, ‘Amherst Pandemonium’ to the ambient guitar piece ‘Impersonating Martin Rev’, S/T explores a wild mix of sounds and emotions that never fully break away from the group’s routes. The group’s signature hellish noise still kicks up a storm and the vocals are still as illegible as ever but the group take liberties here and start to experiment. ‘Orchid’ (or S/T as I’ll be calling it) is 19 tracks of serene chaos. While their early work was suitably abrasive emoviolence, their final LP is where they started to expand their pallet. Releasing just three short albums in their time together (along with several splits), the group’s total amount of music released in their life time only hits around an hour and a bit. Still, 90s screamo has an incredibly dedicated underground fan base, and Orchid is one of the bands held in extreme high regard in the scene. Bite sized songs with screeching, out of control guitars and drums and high pitched screaming vocals belting out often completely unintelligible lyrics. Those unfamiliar with the style of the group and most 90s screamo as a whole will be taken aback by it. Orchid’s self titled and final LP is a difficult beast to tame. Review Summary: Don’t you dare take a stand
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