Ladybird - Demo 2012

Written by Ulla Roschat.


Heaviness Is Spelled L-A-D-Y-B-I-R-D

Ladybird are a three piece US band from Tempe/AZ. The band was formed in 2011 and this demo was released in April 2012.

The three songs of this demo are basically heavy slow, sludge/doom riffs, thick with distortion and fuzz, to monotonous repetitive bass and drum rhythms plus snarling screeching vocals.

Monotonous yes, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. Instead the hypnotizing entrancing rhythms first draw you into a viscous magma-like sea of fuzzy heavy riffs, but then also save you from drowning in this sea of sound. The crashing cymbals cut a path through the thickness and the steady bass provides at least a tiny sense of motion.

Almost everything in the songs goes to the max... fuzz, distortion, feedback, repetition, slowness, and above all heaviness. The only thing kept a tight hold on here is change. The more precious are the moments where change occurs.

In the first song Ontological Physicalism, when it is about halfway through..., some short breaks of the cymbal beats and you are at the mercy of the overwhelming riffs, yet you enjoy the release from the repetition. Gone Away offers a break towards the end. A small island of a fuzz free quiet little blues jam gives you time to shake off the sludge crusts, just to be thrown into the droning noisy last song Slow, and here you finally drown... slowly.

This demo is far more than just a heavy sludge beast. Ladybird have a very special way to feast on abundance and simplicity at the same time, which makes a great deal of the demo’s appeal and fascination. This is 27 minutes of pure listening pleasure..., and highly addictive.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]