Review: Luguber - Tabula Rasa (EP)

Label: DIY

First, some geography. Suriname is a small state at the North-East-coast in South America, with a population of just over half a million. I assume that Suriname doesn't host a noteworthy HC/Punk-scene, at least I haven't noticed any bands out of this country. Until... now! LUGUBER are a three-piece that formed somewhere around 2015/16. They already released some stuff, but their new EP "Tabula Rasa" seems to be their biggest recording yet.

They start us off with a groovy electronica-intro, that doesn't give away in which direction they're heading. But the first few chords of "Deep Rest" do. LUGUBER seem to be heavy influenced by 90s Hardcore. It's the kind of style that would've been called "Metalcore" in the early to mid 90s. But these days it's more Hardcore than most other bands who claim this term for them, if that does make any sense. I'm thinking of bands like early INTEGRITY, 4 WALLS FALLING, CHOKEHOLD, SNAPCASE, MEAN SEASON, GROUNDWORK, and so on. It's not as easy though, as they leave out the chugs most of the time and never wade into Metal territories. You won't get any soli or some shit like that, thus the INTEGRITY comparison is kinda shaky. 

Instead LUGUBER have a distinctive melodic site to them. The way they incorporate the clean singing and the wave-y guitars as well, remind me a lot of early TURNSTILE. In total contrast to this, they also throw-in some heavy down-tuned parts. As a whole, they smoothly bridge the gap from the 90s to the modern Hardcore and would fit on a bill with bands like DRUG CHURCH, GUMM or the mentioned TURNSTILE. Another sign of quality is the fact, that all three actual tracks offer something new. "Deep Rest" is the show-off for them and works surprisingly well despite its 5-minute-length. The single "Burden" is the hit of the EP and comes with a vivid and catchy singalong-part. "Underdevelopement" then is the soft track on "Tabula Rasa", but the three-piece handles itself well through this new soundscape. I love when a band shows different sites to them. LUGUBER is no one-trick-pony and that's something thrilling when looking into their future...

So give this well crafted EP a spin and support these guys. Being out of Suriname it's possibly hard for them to get much gigs or any sort of broader recognition. They surely need any click, any listen, any word-to-mouth, and any mention they can get!

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