Young Widows' bruising 2006 debut, Settle Down City, introduced the Louisville, KY trio as an ugly force to be reckoned with. Two years later they dropped Old Wounds, their sophomore stomp that inspired at least a dozen imitators of varying degrees of success. From there the band traded some of their trademark fury for the bleak, widescreen atmospheres of In and Out of Youth and LIghtness. Now, three years later, Young Widows meld the strengths of their past and their tenacity for the future to forge an album perfectly befitting their merciless moniker.
Young Widows are a creatively restless bunch. Easy Pain is easily their densest, most disturbingly addictive record yet. The guitars are enormous, the drums are pummeling, and the trademark gut-churning bass is more jaw-dropping than ever. Evan Patterson's lyrics and vocal delivery are more expressive and dynamic, and the production is absolutely massive. Disregarding all boundaries and pushing forward with a masterful command of post-punk, noise rock, pseudo industrial, experimental doom, and goth, Young Widows emit the intimidating force of a 10-piece with the heart and soul of a classic power trio. Few artists can simultaneously summarize their entire recorded career while also undeniably expanding upon it. Young Widows have done exactly that, and have earned their reputation as a truly peerless group. In their constant pursuit of the intersection of beauty and ugliness, Easy Pain is unquestionably their most fully realized album to date.
