4 out of 5

Label: Dipterid Records

Produced by: Dan Jensen (mixed by)

In the Midwest, bands play loud. It’s not… necessarily complicated, but it’s also not easy: it’s not easy to pack an album full of such solid music; to deliver it all with such sincerity. The tunes are reliable. The band stands by, waiting to play until you’re ready, but unwilling to not turn it up to 11 once you give the thumbs up to go forward.

Belonging’s Hollow Cells await behind that Play button on your discman or computer; ‘neath the needle drop on your record player. It ushers in waves of weight – pounding drums and thudding bass, massive guitar – and haunted lyrics that, by their song titles, reference bygone eras (Lady Vanishes) or visuals appropriate to the wooded- and highwayed-stretches of the Midwest – Birdcatcher; Longhaul. Our vocalist can summon a kind of folksy baritone, or shout with punk enthusiasm; similarly, the band knows how to post-rock stomp, drawing out the explosions of noise, or to just let loose and three-chord at us. The enveloping sensation of this, though, is the sincerity: this all feels very, very real, and close – as in understandable. You get the vibes from the first loud callouts of notes and husky singing.

The first half of Hollow Cells is brilliant, connecting some wires from the different eras of Young Widows into a more consistent and direct presentation. The back half loses a step in sequencing, bucketing several straight-ahead rockers together such that they feel, initially, somewhat interchangeable. But once you get into the meat of these tracks, there’s always a solid hook awaiting: some lyric or melody that just sticks to your heart.

It’s not necessarily flashy stuff, with “solos” often considering of just layering and layering the noise for an amazing barrage; but the decisions around how to employ that effectively are not simple ones, and Belonging nails that proper formula 9 out of 10 times.