Photo: Lindsay Melbourne
Since the release of their debut EP Pohlsmoker in 2012, POHL has shifted inelegantly through various iterations, line-up changes and self-imposed intermissions. But one constant that has forever remained scorched onto the temporal lobes of those in-the-know is the glorious sound they leave in their wake.
Based in Sheffield, POHL is and always has been a stunning and brutal noise rock duo, currently featuring former Hey Colossus axeman Will Pearce on guitar/vocals, and drummer, Dr Linda Westman of the late Toronto-based death metal two-piece, Old Hope.
With a discography full of EP’s, the band finally releases their debut album this July. Mysteries is a sonic tome which draws as much from MF Doom as it does doom metal. It’s a swirling, cosmic onslaught of heavy motorik riffs and offhand musings about everything and nothing in equal measure. Recorded at the band’s own Cool World studio and mixed by serial collaborator and producer Wayne Adams, Mysteries is many things, often all at the same time. Veering from biblical allusions to fragmented Burroughsian cut-ups, it is at once mystical, profane, sacred, and scatological. Profoundly stupid, perhaps? Or just stupidly profound… either way, Mysteries demands your attention.
Of new single, ‘Revelation’, Will Pearce writes:
“This song is about the end of the world. Or is it? In tarot the Death card signifies deep transformation rather than physical death. Perhaps that’s where we’re heading – a brave new world. Or maybe the die is cast and it’s already too late to save ourselves. Either way, life as we know it is coming to an end.”
Mysteries is released on July 26 2024 via Wrong Speed Records.
