Label: Big Scary Monsters
Released: 5th October 2018
Rating: ★★★★
Never ones to shy away from big ideas and grand visions, Cursive’s ‘Vitriola’ is an album preoccupied with the faltering world we find ourselves in and the human reaction to the circumstances that have taken us to the precipice.
At times, it feels like Tim Kasher and co. are shouting into the void, warning of repeating past mistakes as humanity heads obliviously to the cliff-edge like lemmings. It’s the perfect topic for Kasher’s acerbic lyricism and sees him training his sights on the political and social system with gusto. Consequently, ‘Vitriola’ bubbles and boils with anger and simmers with regret and futility.
Of course, this also means Kasher can also turn his ire inwards, and it makes for some wonderfully meta – and typically Cursive – moments of self-reflection. In particular, ‘Ghost Writer’ and ‘Ouroboros’ see Kasher examining his own failings and referencing previous Cursive works in the process. It’s an open goal and one which he takes with aplomb.
There’s also the not-so-small matter of the returning cello, an instrument synonymous with Cursive’s most beloved work, 2003’s ‘The Ugly Organ’. Here, Megan Siebe steps into Gretta Cohn’s long-vacated shoes and the re-introduction of the strings works beautifully throughout, adding texture to the group’s angular indie-rock. It’s especially noticeable on the punchy ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, one of the album’s outstanding moments and the one that sits closest to Cursive’s classic sound.
Elsewhere, a twisted vision of the future colours the likes of ‘Under The Rainbow’, ‘Life Savings’ and ‘Noble Soldier/Dystopian Lament’, songs where the personal and political are pushed to the fore. While not a traditional ‘concept’ album, nor an album with a structured narrative, these cuts provide an overarching theme, making it easy to pick out the strands and tie the ideas together.
‘Vitriola’ is ultimately Cursive’s album of defiance; a reflection of the faltering world refracted through Tim Kasher’s mind and transformed into something grotesque. It’s failing society writ large, and while it’s a sobering listen, it’s also Cursive’s finest moment since 2006’s similarly caustic ‘Happy Hollow’.
