Sam Ucta's latest album, "Redacted Lines," bold sound reclamation on yet-to-come is now uprooted, stretching into an experience beyond prescribed labels to achieve the unfathomable[no]! Enthronement of post-punk, funk, noise rock, and avant-garde threnody.
"Redacted Lines" is a journey of sound as a storytelling medium, channeling raw emotion and reckless experimentation. Songs like "Redacted Lines" and "Convulsions" are pulsating with raw energy, melding unparalleled lyricism with Uctas' buzz-saw guitar stomp. Pealoni's work here, meanwhile, demonstrates how his songs expand and cross into a cinematic soundscape on tracks like "VRBA" and "Death of Kerim."
One of the album's defining moments, "Everyday Is an Eternity," strips everything back for Uctas' evocative spoken-word poetry to stand front and center, while "SKU DUB" gushes a psychedelic groove into the mix. Each track on Redacted Lines adds to an overall cohesive yet unpredictable listening experience that shows Uctas to be a true chameleon of sound.
Adding to the album's singular character, it was recorded on vintage TASCAM tape machines, which gives the music an organic warmth and an immersive, almost tactile quality. The imperfections of analog recording tape hiss, saturation, and rafted texture become integral to the storytelling, heightening "Redacted Lines" emotional heft.
Standout tracks like "Falling Out" and "In Your Heart" deliver undeniable emotional depth, their melodies staying rooted long after the final note fades out. At 34 minutes and 57 seconds, this nine-song opus cements Uctas' status as an audacious innovator of contemporary music.