So Pitted’s Cloned is a Heavy, Ripping Ride
I’m glad I’m not the only one who has consistent feelings of existential dread. Not that I really thought that I was the only one, but it feels good to know other people are feeling the effects of the overall state of the world with late-stage capitalism, climate change, etc. I think it would be fair to say that, based on their new album, So Pitted has been feeling it too.
The Seattle four-piece is back with their sophomore record Cloned on Youth Riot Records, and it’s a ripper. Reminiscent of industrial classics like Nine Inch Nails and aligned with noisy local contemporaries like Dreamdecay, it’s heavy, unrelenting nü-metal at its best, complete with all the weirdo tendencies we’ve come to love about So Pitted. As a whole, Cloned conveys what it feels like to be held down by the weight of existence. Each song builds with disdain and aggression, like a piling on of daily anxieties and irritations until everything breaks.
The album opens with “Muse,'' which kicks off right away with a grungy guitar progression paired with quick, decisive percussion. It sets the tone for the rest of the album as vocalist Nathan Rodriguez shouts, “Homicide and death/The city’s gonna sink/The rivers on the rise/Whatever just let it go.”
Throughout the album, there are very upfront acknowledgments of the bleak state of the world, but spun with a sense of humor, adding lightness to what is otherwise a crushing record. This is especially true on songs like “Everything Sucks,” where co-vocalist Liam Downey notes how the world is “getting pretty bad.” It builds to a chaotic refrain where Downey groans and deadpans against a fast-paced guitar: “And I’ve never felt so happy in all of my life.”
The movement between Rodriguez’s raw and cutting vocals and Downey’s straightforward, almost mechanical delivery is excellent. Both Rodriguez and Downey are great at creating levels and ramping up the tension in their vocal delivery. Multi-instrumentalists and guitarists Jagger Beato and Lauren Rodriguez also offer up killer performances. The drums on tracks like “Parasite” are urgent and pounding, exacerbating those feelings of anxiety. The guitar tone across the album is also solid. It feels barbed and precise yet reverberates in this deep, sludgy sort of way.
The album builds to a raucous closing track with “No Feeling.” It opens with a rough, jangly guitar riff that thickens as a second guitar comes in. We all get called out as Downey yells, “You’re all fucked and you know it/And you actually like it.” It eventually ascends to a turbulent chorus and second verse, culminating in high-pitched screams as the riff continues to swirl, and then it all cuts. Suddenly you’re on the other side of Cloned, reflecting on an exciting, weird, and cathartic ride.
Cloned is out now. You can catch So Pitted on tour this month or at their record release show on Friday March 8, with Karoshi, Tissue, and Swamp Wife at Black Lodge.