UK band Deathcrash formed in 2019 and released two EPs and a 7" since then, and last month they put out their first full-length, Return, and it's already shaping up to be one of 2022's most remarkable debut albums. They've been associated with bands in the Speedy Wunderground scene like Black Country, New Road, who they toured with and ended up influencing ("Appreciating Deathcrash’s mastery of dynamics turned out to be a useful lesson," BCNR told The Quietus), but to quote Speedy Wunderground producer Dan Carey's interview with Loud and Quiet, "They’re different from [BCNR, Squid, and black midi], much less aggressive but still very weird and dark." Their spoken-word-meets-post-rock vibe has earned them a ton of comparisons to Slint, but there's also elements of the more shimmering side of post-rock like Mogwai, melodic slowcore like Codeine and early Low, a little Hum-style shoegaze, a tiny bit of screaming (on the song amazingly titled "Wrestle With Jimmy"), and some '90s emo.
"If you like Spiderland but also wish it was a little more overtly pretty like an American Football record... this is an hour of it," Ian Cohen said on a recent episode of Indiecast, and that should give you a very good idea of what to expect. It's a really immersive listen, not something you can just throw on in the background or judge from one or two songs. If you blast it, and give it the 65 minutes it deserves, you'll be treated to some of the most intense music of the year.