sace6 Fully Lean Into Chaos on "brutalist"

The NY/NJ duo sace6 have been building this mix of metalcore, alternative rock, r&b and shoegaze textures for a while now, but on their new album "brutalist", it finally feels complete.

The first track, "besotted" is the perfect example of this mix of influences, and it works perfectly well. The single "reverie", ft. jxdn leans into their more pop/r&b side, while tracks like "basorexia" and “allured” lean even further into the emotional side of the project. The production is massive across the whole record too, very clean but still heavy enough. Songs like “covet” and “ego” move between softer vocals and huge distorted sections, and here, there is a coldness to the sound that works really well with the lyrics, their depth, and the mix of influences.

There are moments where the album gets genuinely heavy. "nepenthe" starts with a scream that catches you by surprise and doesn't relent, while “fabulist” goes full screamo. But the band also knows when to pull things back, which stops the album from becoming exhausting halfway through.

With brutalist, sace6 prove that they understand the current scene, but they're not afraid to push its limits. The influences are obvious — metalcore, emo, alternative r&b, post-hardcore — but sace6 manage to make it feel like their own thing most of the time. For a debut album, it’s surprisingly confident.

Listen below:

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