Skullcrusher
Quiet the Room
Release Date: Oct 14, 2022
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
Record label: Secretly Canadian
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Album Review: Quiet the Room by Skullcrusher
Exceptionally Good, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 4.5/5
furious riffs and ear-piercing vocals If you're unfamiliar with Skullcrusher's music, you might be surprised to find that the above words cannot be used to describe Quiet the Room. If you are familiar with Skullcrusher's music, Helen Ballantine's debut full length may still encompass a few surprises. The artist's previous EPs, singles and covers are lovely indie folk pieces, with the most well-known tracks such as 'Song for Nick Drake' and 'Places/Plans' entailing delicate yet catchy melodies and subdued climaxes.
Based on rating 8.5/10
From her self-titled EP in 2020, through 2021's Storm in Summer EP, Helen Ballentine (aka Skullcrusher) has keenly shifted from familiar, lush indie folk to a less traditional sound, arriving now at her debut LP. Quiet the Room is magnificent. A spectral aurora of song, a pre-dawn dream captured in voice, piano, and guitar that's simultaneously sunbeam light and midnight dark, elegant musings on the nature of memory that actually sound like memories.
Based on rating 8/10
The first thing to consider about Skullcrusher is its noticeable paradox. Fronted by singer-songwriter Helen Ballentine and collaborator Noah Weinman, the folk-meets-ambient project doesn't necessarily make you think of a threatening or dangerous situation if you're only going by her peculiar moniker. That said, there's also inherently distressing about the haunting textures that permeate throughout her lush, elegant songs.
Based on rating 4
A debut album not of death metal but one full of ambient, dreamy folk with gossamer light arrangements that don’t so much crush your skull as massage it gently A band name like Skullcrusher may suggest death metal, or at the very least, extremely heavy rock – music full of blistering guitars and screamed vocals to batter you into listening submission. What you may not expect is an album full of ambient, dreamy folk – almost gossamer light arrangements that don’t so much crush your skull as massage it gently until you’re lulled into a state of bliss. This is Helen Ballentine’s Skullcrusher, and her debut album Quiet The Room is pretty mesmerising.
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