And so, we move from a record by  Explosions in the Sky to a band named after an Explosions in the Sky song.

Over the last several years, there’s been revival of sorts in bands realizing the power of loud guitar amps and dirt pedals. Cloakroom seems to be at the front of the pack of this type of revival, with bands like Lume and Teenage Wrist shortly behind. It’s a reminder of what bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins so popular, mixed with a heaping dose of My Bloody Valentine tossed in, with Black Sabbath for flavor.

Michigan’s Greet Death is another great new act in this crop of fuzz-loving guitar bands, and they are coming for the crown.  

But there’s a melodic sensibility to them that isn’t quite as subdued as the slacker-rock vibes of most of the other bands in this circle. Vocals often feel almost secondary in these acts, acting as an afterthought to the massive riffs and immaculately shaped guitar tones.

But on Greet Death, there is such an emphasis on songwriting that it feels almost disarming. The vocal duties are shared by Logan Gaval and Sam Boyhtari, who have quite different vocal tones. Gaval’s voice is the type of smooth and tranquil, drugged cooing common in shogaze.  Boyhtari’s, on the other hand, is an almost Corgan-esque nasal tone. While Gaval’s voice has the ability to sink into the billow of guitar noise, there’s no chance of that happening with Boyhtari’s. His voice cuts through every song he leads, making his imagery just as prominent as the wall of noise behind him. Cloakroom and Lume might be the most obvious sonic comparisons, but with the way their voices play together and the at-times Beatlesy turns their songwriting takes, it reminds me a lot of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart, which always struck me as a Bell & Sebastian tribute band with fuzz pedals.

While they usually let the other handle whole songs, there are a few songs that find them trading off between verses, such as the gorgeous, crushing, eight-minute monolith “You’re Gonna Hate What You’ve Done.” There are also plenty of wonderful moments of harmony, where their voices blend more nicely than you’d expect, as in the epic ten-minute closer “New Hell.” These two massive tracks (both in length and sonic heft) showcase Greet Death at their absolute best, but there isn’t a dry spot on the album.

The record shifts between moods on a dime, from scorched-earth nihilism (“Circles of Hell“) to youthful angst (“Do You Feel Nothing“) to nocturnal exploration (“Entertainment“) to bleak mourning (“Strain“) to almost cheeriness (“Crush” and the acoustic “Strain,” though neither’s lyrics are particularly cheery).

And yet even through the varied moods, the different voices, and the diverse structures, New Hell remains incredibly consistent. Common themes sprout up across the record—existential restlessness, feeling nothing, otherness, and, of course, lots and lots of talk about hell and suffering. While many of the groups in their circles operate in monochromatic (but effective!) palettes, New Hell is a filled with color. Those colors may seem closer to a dark Rembrandt than a bright Monet, but there is a beauty and a detail that cannot be ignored.