by Chakacon

At long last, the ever-evolving powerhouse that can only be Nashville’s SOOT have released their new album, Wearing a Wire. This is the band’s second full length album, and my god, what a mighty one it is. The band’s previous record, Talons of Empathy, was easily one of my favorite releases of 2022, so my mouth has been watering for this new one for months. I… you… WE are feasting, my friends. 

Stylistically, Wearing a Wire picks up where Talons left off while also demonstrating exponential growth from these lads. For the uninitiated, SOOT is comprised of Micah, Zane, Dan, and Cole, and the artistic feats that they are capable of accomplishing when put in a room together are truly remarkable. The general thesis for this album, per the band: a collection of “sounds to be blown to smithereens to,” and I simply couldn’t agree with that statement more. 

Truthfully, it’s hard to narrow down highlights from this record, because after multiple listens, I feel that it’s best consumed as a whole. BUT, if you were to zip tie my hands, strip me bare, throw me in the trunk of a 2001 Honda Civic, and threaten to bury me alive if I didn’t pick some favorites, I suppose I could make an exception. “Ogre,” “Himself,” and “Mr. Tennessee” are all immediate standouts. These songs are fucking SEARING— real mean stuff, y’all— and I mean that in the best way. SOOT wears their influences well without being too on the nose, a task both remarkable and difficult to achieve in the year of our lord 2024. They bring a unique spin to what I would describe as “southern stoner slacker alternative cigarette smoking gas station parking lot rock” (still waiting on this to be an officially recognized genre… maybe it’ll catch on). Think Mark Lanegan-era Queens of the Stone Age with guitars tuned so low you can almost feel the strings wobble, coupled with driving drum grooves and Micah’s absolutely unholy vocals. 

What I find truly inspiring about this record specifically and the band generally is how well the “space” is filled. Listening to Wearing a Wire with headphones is what I would call the definitive way to experience what I mean. At any given point, these songs are littered with subtle nuances— string plucks, modular bleeps, reverberated clangs, double (triple?) tracked vocal lines— all meant to submerge you in a tidal wave of sonic annihilation. 

I simply cannot discuss this record without bringing up the closing track, “Hands.” Released a couple of weeks prior to the album, this has to be one of the band’s strongest tracks to date… and what a way to end an album. A near two minute intro really sets the tone for the big bang as I would call it. Zane’s rumbling bass tone carries Micah’s soft spoken voice that’s pleading, “who’s gonna cut me down from this cross?” But when the chorus kicks in, it is a fucking explosion like the front door getting kicked in on a Sunday afternoon: fully unexpected and seismic in nature. It has to be heard to be believed. I can talk about it all day long, but at this point, just go dig in.

I’m not sure how well I’m articulating these thoughts, so I’m going to wrap it up, but I will leave you, dear Twist Top readers, with this final reflection. Wearing a Wire is a top notch demonstration of what Nashville’s underground has to offer. This is music for the freaks (finally). It sounds like a gas station worker who gets off at 3 a.m. every morning, chain smokes cigarettes with the windows down driving home, only to find a mailbox erupting with pink slips and eviction notices— forever teetering the line of “surviving” and “living.” It sounds like the result of years of being battered by a world that simply does not see you, so you have to do everything you can to make yourself known at whatever cost. You’re just one ant in a colony, but you’re capable of lifting more than double your body weight, so you use that strength to level whatever is in your path. You’re not sure how it happened, but you’ve got a shovel in the backseat, a bloody bed sheet, and someone in the trunk who just won’t stop talking about this damn album. Keep driving that 2001 Honda Civic towards the desert dunes, going 90 the whole way, and blow out your speakers with Wearing a Wire. It’s my final wish before you put me in the ground. Hails!

You can find this album on all streaming services and Bandcamp. You can also preorder a limited edition vinyl copy here!