The Loud Wars is Pretty Okay
The Loud Wars is incredible. It does well building off of the lessons of When I Explode and Flashlights and, though it lacks the consistency of the latter, perfectly captures the former’s energy. It’s fun, frantic, shameless, and loud as all hell.
“Artifacts of Sound” wastes no time in making its point. The music industry has gone hollow: meaningless records flood the scene as apathetic fans laud the exact same songs again and again. So, they flip it on its head. Repitition is made into a thematic leyline, shouting the exact same words again and again to prove the point. It doesn’t limit itself to a single track, either. They cross-pollinate, sharing verses like “Glaciers will melt” and “The record doesn’t lie” to lay little lyrical landmines that grab your attention; to tell you that each and every track is interlinked. The Loud Wars makes itself into one big hook, dragging you into the lyric book to try and tie up every loose end.
Still, there are some standouts from within that tapestry. “The Novelty of Haunting” takes the dishonest edginess from “These Things Happen” and finally makes it their own; no longer just a theme to cross off the checklist. It’s about suicide, it’s about loneliness, it’s about regret, but it isn’t moping about it. It’s LOUD, and “The Formula” screams with it in an operatic crescendo; earthquakes and landslides backed by math-y stutter-step rhythms pressing up against your temple.
The drums are distractingly good, building that “math-y” foundation alongside the guitars. Together, they dance between dramatic arguments and complex patterns of call-and-response, harmonizing with Stovall’s vocals and melody-driven keyboard work. Every single track feels unique while keeping its thematic throughline. There are some growing pains, as the instrumentals do occasionally fight one another in the mix and some lyrics get much too cute with the repetition and self-reference. Still, So Many Dynamos have finally cemented their style and shown their true potential. Things can only go up from here.
8/10
STRUCTURE: 7/10, INSTRUMENTALS: 8.5/10, LYRICS: 8/10
