Gauge Means Nothing’s ‘Pilgrims’ is some extended, deeply melodic Japanese post-hardcore. According to their website, these guys broke up in 2005, but before that they were making music for almost a decade. The soulful yet disengaged organ that serves as the tune’s melodic backbone is truly haunting. These keys mesh well with the untethered, harmony-rich guitar work. Behind everything, pounding, deeply emotive drums denote the skramz tradition that served as the band’s framework. Floating over everything, the group’s chaotic, sometimes sweetly feminine, sometimes furious vocalizations capture the full breadth of screamo’s emotional experience. The unorthodox structure of the song and tendency toward extended interludes seems to hint at post-rock influences. The Japanese have always been ardent practitioners of a multitude of underground rock genres, but these guys really seem to embody the creative freedom and inventiveness the archipelago’s geographic isolation and unique culture begets. Check out ‘Pilgrims’ below!
Noah Zucker // IG – @zucker.n // Twitter – @zuckern13