Review Summary: Is something burning here or is it me?
You Won’t Get What You Want is an album defined by negation. Negation of listener expectations, as implied by the title, but it doesn’t stop there. Both sonically and lyrically, this album patiently promises erasure: an end to the self, an end to the world.
There’s a short rope swinging without a head in its jaws
It’s waiting
Propelled by Alexis Marshall’s idiosyncratic warped charisma, the lyrics are deeply unsettling. The words often leave much to the imagination, revealing only enough to hint at something greater, leaving the impression that there’s something horrible lurking between the lines. That may be the greatest strength of
You Won’t Get What You Want: the hidden negative presence, some unknowable malevolent force that can be felt but not seen. It takes different forms throughout the album: manipulative ('Satan In the Wait'), invasive ('Less Sex'), or unnervingly confrontational ('Guest House'). The anxious 'Ocean Song' sees the return of Daughters allegorical everyman Paul, of ‘The Virgin’ fame, driven suddenly by an enigmatic force to dissociation and self-destruction in an effort to escape the banal tragedy of his life. Over the course of the album, Marshall’s delivery is more varied than ever, his unmistakable paranoiac howl punctuated by wordless grunts, yelps, spoken-word, and the occasional scream. It’s a mesmerizing performance that brings the album to life.
I let it into my home
I gave it complete control
Structurally, Daughters have adopted a more deliberate approach than the spastic grind freakouts of their earlier incarnations, focusing on building solid grooves and modulating intensity by way of variation. There are still moments where Daughters indulge in all-out blistering onslaught (‘The Flammable Man’), but these moments are the exception instead of the rule this time around, which only increases their effectiveness. This is still incredibly heavy, claustrophobic, and discordant music (what exactly is Nick Sadler DOING to that guitar?), but with a newfound emphasis on dynamics and a willingness to settle into a patient, sinister tension. In addition to incorporating the slow burn, there are even a few instances of unabashed melody (‘Satan in the Wait’, the end of ‘Guest House’), made all the more striking in their contrast to the general ugliness of the surrounding soundscape.
He says he knows things, this man
Calling this album a triumphant return feels wrong, given the pervasive sense of dread and anxiety Daughters conjure here, but it’s apt. After a years long hiatus and a difficult protracted writing and recording process, the fact that the resulting work maintains such a clarity of vision and sonic focus is a small marvel. Beautiful despite its horrific ugliness,
You Won’t Get What You Want is a towering achievement by a peerless band. Let it in.
