Wired - Basement Album Review
- Zoe Aitchison
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
A split Review by Zoe Aitchison & Madisun Manyweathers
I first heard about Basement a month or two ago while tuning in to FBI radio. The presenter broadcast their single ‘Covet’ from their 2012 Album "Colourmeinkindness". As soon as I heard it, I was eager for more and what a pleasure it is to find them at the perfect time with the drop of this absolute gem!
It's been a long 8 years between drinks, but Basement are finally back with their brand new album “WIRED”, out now via Run For Cover Records and civilians. As the first album post-hiatus, it definitely feels like a fresh start and a new sense of purpose for the band. While still keeping the core fundamentals of Basement as you know them, there's a new grit and edge that takes this release to a whole new level.
“I never thought Basement could sound like this, “But in my head, it’s what I’ve always wanted Basement to sound like.” - Alex henery, guitarist
It puts a heavier twist on a very nostalgic late 90s DIY garage band sound, while still sounding inherently authentic to them, which I love. I noticed new things every listen that made me enjoy the album more and more, from complex drum fills in “Sever” and “pick up the pieces” to the twinkly guitar melodies in softer songs like “longshot”, WIRED is a listening experience from start to finish. Opening up with a single snare hit, a couple of little ticks and what sounds like a track starting up, almost as if they're about to perform it right in front of you. WIRED sounds raw, honest, and unapologetic, designed for a live setting.
Immediately when listening to "Time Waster", I was reminded of some sonic elements from the album "Melophobia" by Cage the Elephant, which evoked a very fond nostalgic feeling of the beginning of a road trip in the summer holidays. I would argue that feeling was pretty accurate because this album definitely takes you for a ride. There are peaks and falls, along with some unexpected but sonically satisfying elements that I will not describe so that you can enjoy the surprise for yourself!
Something Basement has always excelled at is creating evocative music that forces you to feel something, and the third track on the album, “Deadweight”, is absolutely no exception. This track has lots of shoegazy elements like reverb, the layering of the rhythm guitars and bass, as well as the synth on the lead guitar. I really enjoyed how in this song the verses slow down and spill into the chorus, and then pick back up again back into the verse. Aesthetically, it feels very reminiscent of an old record player, spinning at varying speeds.
"Sever" is definitely my favourite on the album, although it is a hard pick. The track teases at a familiar wiry, hook line on guitar, only to slam into something far more urgent and desperate with an incredibly forward mixed drum. This track will surely steal your attention. The first vocals from Andrew Fisher are gritty and bold. Sever definitely feels incredibly climactic on the album as one of the heavier tracks. With a tragic release in the chorus, this track constantly walks the line between rage and desolation. The end of this track is a perfect descent into that experimental buzzy noise that we all know and love, paying homage to a plethora of 90s grunge and DIY bands that I’m sure had their influences on Basement.
This album feels just as nostalgic as it does fresh, drawing influences from all over and twisting it into something dynamic and daring that sets basement apart from the rest. As a long-time fan of 90s bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Oasis, blur, R.E.M., etc, "WIRED" really felt like a love letter to these bands that paved the way for their existence as well as all the other bands we know and love today, in a way that is so quintessentially Basement, truly cementing them as one of the pillars in the post-hardcore scene.
“We’ve done Colourmeinkindness, we’ve done Promise Everything, Yes, we’re Basement, but what’s the point in doing another record if we’re not going to try and push it?” - Henery
When you compare my perspectives as a new Basement listener to those of Madisun, who has been listening to Basement through many stages of their discography, it becomes clear that they are very much a band worth getting into. WIRED is a solid album, whether you have listened to Basement before or if this is your first time. As Madisun stated earlier, "WIRED" takes a perfect amount from bands I have loved and adored before. On my first listen, I heard elements from Nirvana and Cage The Elephant, but I’d argue it’s this melting pot of sounds that makes every listener connect differently. It’s exciting to think about what each individual will hear when they tune in to this album. In saying this, it’s also so very clearly Basement. They have truly conquered the art of blending prior music with their own unique sound. I can only find so many words to explain how WIRED sounds, but you truly need to hear it; in fact, if I could bottle the feeling of my first listen, I would!!
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