STATIC DRESS - ROUGE CARPET DISASTER
Static Dress have been a very interesting band to follow. From cryptic messages to secret shows, they have been vital towards the post-hardcore scene revival these past few years. Providing their fans with limited USBs, VHS cassettes and CDs starting in 2021 with the TBC project, eventually leading to their Prologue EP and accompanying comic, they have always been intriguing to observe.
Following the storyline of the Prologue project, the post-hardcore 4 piece are back with their debut album Rouge Carpet Disaster, a 12-track project which can only be described as a very extraordinary masterclass in storytelling and structure. The concept story can briefly be described as a love story gone completely wrong, leading to interesting outcomes and details within the universe of Hotel Disdain, which the concept is set in.
Opening with ‘fleahouse’ and ‘sweet.’, the tone of the almost 40-minute album is instantly made clear, with lead singer Olli Appleyard’s crisp screams and vocals leading throughout.
The following three tracks consist of ‘Push rope’, ‘Attempt 8’ and ‘Courtney, just relax’, and feature a mixture of electrifying riffs, electronic interludes, and fantastic drumming. The latter of the songs mentioned above serves as the first true highlight of the album, and could possibly be considered the heaviest track on the LP. Throughout the 3-minute length, it is bound to keep the listeners on the edges of their seats.
Heavy breakdowns continue into ‘Di-sinTer’, featuring King Yosef, the only song with a feature, and quite an impressive one at that. Throughout the course of the album following this, a large emphasis is given on catchy riffs, choruses and experimentalism, with ‘such.a.shame’, ‘…Maybe!!?’, and ‘Lye solution’.
The last few tracks of the album close in an extraordinary style. ‘Unexplainabletitlesleavingyouwonderingwhy (welcome in)’ feels like a song heavily influenced by the early My Chemical Romance era, and it fits the theme of the album perfectly. Coming in at just under 2 minutes, it packs a heavy punch, before immediately retreating to the calmest yet most sombre song of the record, ‘Marisol’. The song ends on a highly emotional crescendo, before entering Rouge Carpet Disaster’s outro and grand finale ‘cubicle dialogue’.
In the second highlight of the album, and a personal favourite of the project, all the elements in perfecting the craft of a post-hardcore track are present. The talents of lead Olli Appleyard, drummer Sam Ogden, bassist Connor Reilly, and mysterious guitarist known as Contrast show in full force with this 4-minute rollercoaster of a song. The second half of the song leaves the twisted Silent Hill-esque world of Static Dress and Rouge Carpet Disaster completely up to interpretation, with more to be wanted, hopefully in future projects.
In conclusion, Static Dress’s debut album is a success on all fronts, with the band presenting a project that can well enough blast them into the limelight, alongside the very exciting festival season they have planned. While personal highlights exist throughout this review, each track was memorable and unique, already deservingly earning its spot as one of the best releases of the year so far. It will be fascinating to see where they go from here conceptually and sonically. Rouge Carpet Disaster is undeniably a must listen.
Dan Tsourekas
★★★★★