Background Information:
Young Widows is a Louisville, Kentucky, three-piece consisting of every member of hardcore band Breather Resist, save the vocalist. They formed in 2005 and put out their first release, the solid but not particularly exciting Settle Down City, in 2006. Said record was primarily noise rock a little bit too
heavily influenced by the Jesus Lizard.

How was this album recorded?
Old Wounds is put together from over 12 hours of tape: producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou recorded their live shows for an entire tour, they recorded several sets in their practice space, and they recorded a set at Ballou’s recording studio. The resulting 32.5 minute album is constructed of only the strongest cuts of only the best songs, and some songs are assembled from both live and studio recordings.

What does the album sound like?
Fucking awesome. The combination of live and studio recordings creates a sound that has the energy of a live show but the production quality and precision of a studio album.

No I mean, what are the songs like? What kind of music is it… etc…?
Oh. Okay.

This is a huge step forward for the band. Their influences are clear but they don’t feel tied to them as before. You can hear Fugazi, the Melvins, the Jesus Lizard, and the Kentucky hardcore scene the band comes from, but all assembled in a unique way that doesn’t feel derivative.
The bass is thick, the guitar is spacey and weird and awesome, and the vocals have the genuine Kentucky swagger that people playing this style of music tend to imitate badly. The lyrics are awesome to shout along with, and the songs are both tightly constructed no-bullshit rockers and genre-defying experimenters.

So, what are some standout tracks?
“Old Skin” starts as a simple stoner groove then adds in a cascading shear of guitar. “The Guitar” is just an odd little tuneless song whose minimalist instrumentation builds to create something better than it should reasonably be. “Lucky and Hardheaded” starts as a fairly straightforward hardcore song
then turns into something altogether stranger. “21st Century Invention” showcases a healthy Fugazi influence and catchiness. “Swamped and Agitated” starts dirty and turns into glaciers falling into the ocean.

Let’s hear your Final Verdict, then…
This is a very rare sort of album: an album that is always willing to experiment but never stops rocking. The effect of the process of recording a ton of material and then using only the best stuff is clear: the songs here are refined to a point and every song feels like it belongs. A compelling argument against what bands tend to do: release everything they write as soon as they’ve written it.

This is the rock/hardcore/posthardcore/stoner rock/noise rock album of the year, and the best album of the year to turn up loud. Take notice.
I can’t read. Could you please assign it a numerical ranking?
Sure. On a scale from Rock to Sexy this album is a 17.5