There are only a few albums that, in my opinion, can be called truly scary. You won't get what you want from Daughters and Swans Be kind both come to mind immediately. But these records are accompanied by… let's just say, Baggage. I've seen everything I need To See lacks some atmospheric creepiness Be kind and flashes of flapping menace You won't get what you want but it makes up for it with unrelenting cruelty. This is not the soundtrack to a slasher film, this is the most brutal scene of the darkest horror film, presented in the form of bursting drums and out-of-tune guitar.
The album opens with a reading by Douglas Dunn. Kaleidoscope, a poem about how we find ourselves trapped in grief as the occasional drum beats arrhythmically along with bursts of noise and a low metallic hum. Leading into the distant wail of vocalist/guitarist Chip King, “A Lament” sizzles in fits and starts, struggling to take off.
Good art is not necessarily pleasant art.
This sets the tone for a record that is less a collection of songs and more a relentless monolith erected in tribute to the power of distortion. And here I confess I've seen everything I need To See won't be for everyone. It's mostly atonal, the tracks can blur into each other, and even when the drums pick up a tempo beyond a funeral dirge, the songs feel weighed down, as if the band is trying to climb out of a mire.
That doesn't mean there aren't moments of catharsis. The city is under fire in particular, it breaks through near the end when King's vocals turn into goblin-like croaks over powerful piano chords, creating one of the few moments of genuine melodicism (even if it's buried under a skyscraper of fuzz).
Although sometimes it only lasts 38 minutes, I saw everything I needed to see may seem like an endurance exercise. But just like a marathon, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth enduring. There is beauty in its cruelty. It's haunting and vicious in the sense that, say, Bring her back is. Good art is not necessarily pleasant art.
If you're looking for a record that evokes a horror movie vibe without going camp. Something that feels truly dangerous and scary, rather than just creepy. I saw everything I needed to see this is what you are looking for. Recording available at Bandcamp and most streaming services, including Apple Music, Tidal, Diezer, YouTube MusicAnd Spotify.
