Before I sat down to write about “Bent,” the debut album by Connecticut College’s very own Coagulate, I had the opportunity to attend a number of their performances here on campus at The Barn. On each occasion, I found that there wasn’t a person in the room who wasn’t dancing or at least bobbing along to the music. This in and of itself isn’t unique to Coagulate’s performance, and it is not surprising given that drummer Josh Hausman is undeniably groovy, especially when accompanied by Violet Better on bass. Yet, what struck me was that I was surrounded by people who, by and large, did not care for metal music. Had these kids been alone in their rooms that night, I doubt that any of them would have had Master of Reality playing on their stereo or would have been dancing around their room to “Into the Void.” I certainly wouldn’t have. Still, there we were having a fantastic time to the tune of “Caffeine.”
My point in mentioning this is that there’s something distinctly appealing about seeing Coagulate perform, and it’s a challenging task to embody the visceral kineticism of a live act on a studio album. There are all too many mediocre bands with noisy, messily-produced albums, posing proudly in the shadow of Raw Power. “Bent” sidesteps this typical pitfall thanks in no small part to the work of producer Hans Olrik. Olrik’s mix sounds strikingly different from Coagulate’s live performances but is nonetheless informed by them. Netland’s vocals are distorted, but not to the point where they’re unrecognizable; Better’s bass drives the songs forward, but never at the expense of overwhelming Ben Greene’s deft guitar playing. It’s loud, but balanced. It gives the listener some distance from Netland’s bare-chested antics, drawing more attention to the band’s ability than their spectacle.
It’s in this light that Coagulate’s talents, as well as their shortcomings, are put on full display. Greene’s guitar playing is a particular highlight; “Begin Again” opens the album with some bluesy improvisational guitar that builds an off-kilter rhythm before “Ahead by One” comes storming in with percussive fury. Greene’s playing doesn’t necessarily steal the show, but it certainly sets the tone for the rest of the album. The tracks where Greene’s work shines, like his wailing solo over Better’s trudging bass riff on “Depende,” is Coagulate at their best.
While Greene’s guitar might form much of the foundation for “Bent’s” sound, it’s Netland’s vocal performance that establishes the album’s mood. Sonically, his voice is perfectly fitting. There’s enough roughness to the quality of the recording to give it an edge, but not at the cost of obscuring his lyrics. On “Bent,” Netland’s lyrics occupy a strange space—they display a swath of existential angst that’s grounded almost entirely in his own experience. It’s an experience that I relate to, and genuinely feel I can understand, which provides a sense of distance as well as connection. I don’t doubt for a second that they’re honest personal expressions of emotion that come from a place of sincere self-reflection. Personally, I know that if I sat down to write some lyrics, the best I could hope to come up with would read like a cheap imitation of “Citrus Skull.” However, it seems to me that the power of great songwriting is expressing a kind of indescribable emotion. So I’m left feeling torn when it comes to Netland’s writing. It’s engaging, and it’s refreshing in the sense that most of the music I’ve encountered that voices similar sentiments tends to sound more like Salvia Palth than it does Iron Maiden. All in all, “Bent” leaves me wanting something more, but I’m not sure if that’s because the album itself is lacking. I’ve seen Coagulate take a room of kids who just seconds ago had their arms up in time to Modest Mouse’s “Float On” and get them headbanging to a song that they had never heard before. I don’t believe a whole lot of bands are capable of doing something like that; and so I can’t help but feel that Coagulate is a great band, but “Bent” is just a good album.