While I welcome the increasing influence of early eighties post-punk in rock music, many bands attempting the style try to stick to the genre’s conventions slightly too closely to really make an impact. Grave Pleasures is an exception to the rule and have been so since their inception as Beastmilk. Of course, we are dealing with an experienced bunch of musicians here, but what really makes ‘Motherblood’ stand out is the quality of the songwriting. The atmosphere so vital to post-punk and gothic rock is here, but so are powerful arrangements and memorable melodies. ‘Motherblood’ is style and substance.

Having said that, ‘Motherblood’ is easily the best record these musicians have created together thus far. The guitar arrangements are more interesting than on predecessor ‘Dreamcrash’ and the overall sound is somewhat more urgent, largely due to the guitars of Juho Vanhanen and Aleksi Kiiskilä having a little more body. They are slightly heavier, adding a subtle doom metal-like atmosphere to the album. Valtteri Arino, in addition, is a surprisingly playful-sounding bassist, almost jazzy compared to the angular approach post-punk is known for. Mat McNerney, meanwhile, goes over the top in his passionate over-the-top vocal delivery, but never so far that it veers into self-parody.

Post-punk and gothic rock bands with more than one guitarist are often known for their interesting guitar arrangements and Grave Pleasures is no different. Even when Vanhanen and Kisskilä are playing in unison, they make sure that their guitar sounds differ enough to create a large, impenetrable wall of guitars. Arrangements are a forte for Grave Pleasures anyway. For example, the chorus of ‘Deadenders’ is made extra explosive by its sudden subdued introduction. Sometimes it’s a simple matter of removing or adding cymbals in Rainer Tuomikanto’s drum parts, sometimes it’s adding an extra guitar layer, but Grave Pleasures knows how to wring everything out of the songs on ‘Motherblood’.

Every song on ‘Motherblood’ is worth hearing, but there are of course a few stand-out tracks. ‘Joy Through Death’ is fairly well-known because of its video, but truth be told, it is also one of the better songs on here with its deceptively simple riff and memorable chorus. The powerful ‘Mind Intruder’ is probably the heaviest track on here and as such, probably the best track for fans of the members’ metal bands to start with. ‘Doomsday Rainbows’ leans on a bunch of quality riffs that leave lots of space for McNerney to excel, while ‘Be My Hiroshima’ is so catchy that it refuses to leave your mind.

Grave Pleasures isn’t really a typical band for any genre. Some band members bring metal influences to the band, but they aren’t really metallic at all. There’s an undeniable gothic rock atmosphere here, but overall, the music is simply too blunt and forward to fit that moniker. And while I feel comfortable whatsoever calling their music post-punk, it is quite a bit heavier and looser than most people would expect from bands in that genre. They almost sound like a seventies rock band playing goth or vice versa. But whatever it is, it works. Very well even.

Recommended tracks: ‘Mind Intruder’, ‘Joy Through Death’, ‘Deadenders’