After two EPs, comes the long awaited debut full-length by Toronto’s Peeling via Labyrinth Records.
Seems to be more of a solo project and effort for Anna Timoshenko.
Worshipper seems to be a bold departure from the noisy hazy sound to more of a noisy pop, straight forward of 80s sounding of No Wave, synth-rock and post-punk music.
I think it is a stellar album and can’t stop listening to Suck, Cold Hands and Dread.
About the album:
At its heart, Worshipper is an album that has its sonic palette built on a foundation of unease.
Timoshenko explains: “For a while I didn’t have a band or place to live and was going through a major upheaval in my life, so the key themes of this album are uncertainty, adaptability and self-reliance.” These themes find themselves woven throughout the lyrical content, but their impact is also felt in the menacing overdriven bass, the trembling, dissonant guitar lines and the industrial-tinged beats washed out in reverb.
https://youtu.be/n1jkFSiw6_4
Worshipper is Peeling’s first release since the 2017 EP, 7 Years Of Blood (Buzz Records).
While Timoshenko has always been the songwriter behind Peeling, in the time between these releases the cast of musicians involved has undergone a notable transition from a collaborative effort between Toronto scene veterans Jimmy Tony Billy (Dilly Dally), Denholm Whale (Odonis Odonis), and Alejandro Cairncross (Golden Dogs) into a vehicle driven exclusively by Timoshenko (with occasional drum assistance from Preoccupations’ Michael Wallace). The impetus for this shift is found in Timoshenko’s deepening exploration of music production and time spent away from her hometown. She explains how Worshipper began to take shape as a solo project, “Worshipper was written over the course of two and half years while traveling and living out of a van. I recorded most of it on a makeshift mobile studio while simultaneously learning how to produce.” Despite Peeling’s personnel revision, the crunching/intricate guitar lines and gritty drive that ran through Peeling’s previous EPs Rats In Paradise and 7 Years Of Blood are still here on Worshipper. However, in a suitably 2020 manner, they’re dialed darker, and sparser, than ever and backed by beats that weigh as heavy as anything Peeling have ever done. When it comes to the album name, Timoshenko says, “being in a constant state of flux makes you reevaluate your priorities and what’s important. Worshipper explores the things we hold sacred, give worth to and obsess over.”
Worshipper is the first release on Labyrinth Records, a label recently founded by Timoshenko. She explains “Labyrinth is a new outlet for creativity, self-expression and collaboration. My goal for starting a label is to bring together the DIY artists I love who are confronting the norm and challenging music industry standards. I want to help rebuild a sense of community among underground musicians & music fans that have been hard hit recently, especially with the abrupt halting of live shows and touring. Most importantly, no rapists, no racists and no fascists allowed.”
Worshipper gets:
/10.
Peeling – Worshipper [Streaming]
