Diemen Sniep - Life Without Adrenaline

by Maarten Schiethart

published: 8 / 12 / 2021

Label: JauneOrange
Format: LP

intro

Enjoyable mini-album from US/Belgian foursome Diemen Sniep, who while having strong Sonic Youth and Swans' influences, also show some originality

Between Mogwai, The Swans in the middle and Sonic Youth out in the realms, this US-Belgian foursome dwells in muddy reverbs. Diemen Sniep - Life Without Adrenaline - JauneOrange Liège, the dire little coal metropole in French-speaking Belgium, is home to remarkably few industrial bands; Diemen Sniep appears the odd one out, with a band name one would sooner relate to the town just outside Amsterdam. My excuse for not knowing how to pronounce the band's name, Chad Levitt on most instruments, Jake Barton on drums, Elena Lacroix on bass and Aubry Degeimbre on guitar relive the later 1980s on six tracks, ringing through post-industrial soundscapes towards wasteland rumbles. They combine primal heft with a stark sense of doom and gloom on 'Life Without Adrenaline', which resonates both with minimalism and the uproar. Even though at times Diemen Sniep prove mammothly dull, they return with strumming vigour in the end. They win bonus points for the extravagant psychedelic freakouts on 'PEST' that set the band apart from their Sonic Youth/Swans inspirations. Admittedly, with so much music recorded over the past fifty years, it has become hard to brew something new. Diemen Sniep dig deep. My ears tell me they've stumbled on something.