Deafheaven Take A Reflective Turn In "Ordinary Corrupt Human Love"

Deafheaven certainly have a niche carved out for themselves with their own spin on shoegaze, but that hasn't stopped them from pushing themselves. Deafheaven take a reflective turn in Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, building a dynamic record full of emotion while maintaining their signature sound.

Ordinary Corrupt Human Love brings a lot of what fans love best about Deafheaven's sound: beautiful indie instruments that juxtapose viciously angry vocals. 'You Without End' introduces the record quietly, ocean ambience offering a moment of reflection and an odd sense of nostalgia before the quiet, sensual vocals bring in the song. The instrumental grows (as do the vocals), shifting to the more familiar Deafheaven sound with an uplifting vibe. 'Glint' has a similar structure, except reversed: its warm instrumental strats off with the energy before eventually transitioning into something quieter.

There's a nice blend of reflective quietness and abrasive anger in Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, but there are points when there feels like a formula is being used. The structure of "heavy hitting first half into a softer second half" is a common sight on the record, though it doesn't feel like much of an impediment. The halves motif is prevalent, but Deafheaven utilizes it in different ways; in 'Honeycomb,' for example, a more evil and pounding sound embodies the first half before it resolves in a gorgeous end. 'Canary Yellow' has a similar energy in the first half before exploding to a grand rock climax. 'Worthless Animal' does it best, building up to a huge end before fading to the ambience of the beginning track to close the record as it began: with a sense of reflective nostalgia.

Deafheaven take a reflective turn in Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, building dynamic with their long yet emotional songs. There's a lot to what makes Deafheaven so unique, and this record is a perfect example of it: in that weird juxtaposition of anger and elation is that place where we always feel like we're in limbo between the good and bad. Deafheaven takes us to that place and helps us find a way out of it.

Favorite Track: Honeycomb

Least Favorite Track: Night People

Rating: 74 / 100

Stream or buy Ordinary Corrupt Human Love on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: