About Cursive
Very
few bands manage to last decades, and for the ones that do, it's often easy to
settle down and get a little too comfortable. But there's nothing comfortable
about Devourer, the explosive new album from Cursive. The iconic Omaha group is
known for their intensity, ambition, and execution, and has spent 30 years
creating a bold discography that's defined as much by its cathartic sound as
its weighty, challenging lyrical themes. And Devourer is as daring as ever.
Full of intense and incisive songs, the album proves exactly why Cursive have
been so influential and enduring-and why they remain so vital today.
In
the years since their 1995 formation, Cursive developed into one of the most
important groups to emerge from the late-'90s/early '00s moment when the lines
between indie rock and post-hardcore began blurring into something altogether
new. Albums like Domestica (2000) and The Ugly Organ (2003) became essential
touchstones whose echoes can still be heard in new bands today. The pull of
nostalgia can be strong over time, but Cursive's work has often felt like a
rejection of those comfort zones; the band has continually pushed themselves,
with frontman Tim Kasher's artistic restlessness steering them ahead. In fact,
for Kasher, whose pointed observations always begin with looking inward first,
it was an interrogation of this voracious creativity that planted the seeds of
Devourer.
"I
am obsessive about consuming the arts," he explains. "Music, film, literature.
I've come to recognize that I devour all of these art forms then, in turn,
create my own versions of these things and spew them out onto the world. It's
positive; you're part of an ecosystem. But I quickly recognized that the term,
'Devourer,' may also embody something gnarly, sinister." Devourer delves into
that darker space. The characters populating the album have bottomless
capacities for consumption, whether its resources, material goods, art, or even
each other. Then they are consumed by larger forces, whether it's humanity,
Earth, dreams, time, or life itself. "Maybe a better word for it is
imperialism," Kasher says. "But it's in many different forms. It's not just the
political. It's personal imperialism and the imperialism of relationships, the
way we imperialize one another, even ourselves."
Fans
have come to expect such heady topics from Cursive, but Devourer sets a new
standard. The glibness of the First World toward the problems of others. The
eternal struggle to stay on the straight and narrow. The eager acolytes
exploited by their leaders. How anxiety can compound with age. How
self-expression can warp into self-indulgence. Beginning with "Botch Job," a
propulsive banger shaking with anxiety and regret, the album seldom relents.
Songs like "The Avalanche of Our Demise," "What The Fuck," "Bloodbather,"
"Consumers," and "The Age of Impotence" hit hard, hooking listeners with the
unique blend of deep melody and discordant sounds Cursive does so well. Even as
songs like "Up and Away," "Imposturing," and "Dead End Days" lean more into a
poppier sound-or "Dark Star" and "The Loss" tone down the intensity-the album's
underlying disquiet remains. But as always, Cursive is here to wail, not
wallow. As Kasher sings in "Bloodbather," "Life's an abscess or apple pie / So
shut those demons up / And devour your slice."
Devourer
being filled to the brim thematically and musically is unsurprising considering
Kasher wrote an astounding 69 compositions after songwriting began in the fall
of 2020. About 20 made it to the practice space, with a curated 13 ending up on
the final album. Wrangling it all at Omaha's ARC Studios
was Marc Jacob Hudson, who co-produced the album with the band after running
live sound on Cursive's recent tours. Hudson's lengthy discography includes
working with Against Me!, Thursday, and Fireworks, among others, but the
musical touchstones he shares with Cursive sealed the deal. "We just got along
well and had this kind of shared music history that I found so comforting,"
Kasher says. "We were introduced to music in similar ways and, being the same
age, share a musical knowledge. It was just so fun and refreshing."
Now
seven members strong ("We seem to be collecting band members over the years,"
Kasher jokes), Cursive had a large musical toolbox to use on Devourer. Beyond
the core trio of singer/guitarist Kasher, bassist Matt Maginn, and
guitarist/vocalist Ted Stevens, there's keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist
Patrick Newbery, cellist Megan Siebe, recording/touring drummer Pat Oakes, and
founding drummer Clint Schnase (the two trade drumming duties across Devourer,
but join forces for a two-pronged percussive force in "Rookie").
Cursive
had self-released their two previous albums on their label, 15 Passenger, and
initially planned to release Devourer the same way-but ultimately decided to
put out some feelers as well. "We got interest and it made it all feel like,
'Yeah, we should do this,'" Kasher recalls. The group arrived on Run for Cover
Records, who were excited to work with a band who has such a deep discography
and storied history; it's a fitting home for Cursive, with new labelmates like
Fiddlehead, Citizen, Teen Suicide, and Self Defense Family that share a
same DNA of
emotionally and sonically biting music. "It really is the first time that we've
gone off to another label since we started in 1995, when we signed to Crank!
Records," Kasher says. "So there's a certain excitement to that. It's no longer
the excitement of, 'We just got signed! I wonder what's going to happen with
this record?!' It's more like we're doing something different-nothing feels
rote." Maginn adds, "More than most bands, our labels have been part of our
history. We did it ourselves for years with 15 Passenger, so it's a big deal to
us to take on and trust new partners."
While
Cursive's music hasn't gotten any more comfortable, perhaps its being released
into a world that's at least a little more shaped in their image. Devourer
sounds urgent and fresh, the work of a band still experimenting, still
hungering to find new creative heights. On album highlight "Consumers," the
protagonist bemoans, "I saw our future and I want to go back." But Cursive are
only moving forward.
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