Wealthy Women is a noise rock trio based out of San Francisco, and while they may have only been together for about two years now their debut full-length Children showcases a sense of cohesion and urgency that is not always common this early on. Noise rock is one of those genres that can take many different forms, and for Wealthy Women the emphasis is on equal amounts of heavy, abrasive riffing, sharper vocals that steal the spotlight, as well as a good deal of somber, bleak moments that allow for pause and reflection. It’s very much an album with distinctive halves, and while the group has left themselves with room for expansion Children serves as a strong foundation.
Opening track “37 Days” comes roaring in with a considerable amount of low end, with the sound falling somewhere between sludge and noise rock. It’s exactly the type of controlled chaos that has drawn me to these styles for decades, and the ebb and flow early on reminds me of a cross between Unsane or Helmet with a dash of Harvey Milk added in for good measure. But the burlier, dense riffing isn’t all Wealthy Women has up their sleeves, as around the halfway point the distortion fades away and you’re left with somber, airier melodies over top of a jagged bassline. The group utilizes these types of soft and loud transitions effectively, particularly on the second half where they really become a key element. You’ll notice after a few listens that there’s a noticeable divide between the two halves of the albums, as the first three have some of the most aggressive forward writing and lean the most into sludge and more traditional noise rock. “Atheist Wife” divides things up with a much shorter and almost punk infused sound, and then the melodies become more prominent on “Shit Breaks” through the title track. The title track is an effective and somber closer that sprawls outwards and lets the harshness fade away in favor of a more reflective, which reminds me a lot of fellow Californians Kowloon Walled City and the way they used space effectively. It does feel like some of these softer aspects could be expanded upon further, and if Wealthy Women can continue to capture their emotional and more subdued side in unexpected ways I think they’ll make something more surprising in the future.
Guitarist/vocalist Peter Sisk has one of those gruffer yelled/screamed pitches that immediately grabs your attention upon pressing play. Despite the density of the instrumentation, Children places the vocals front and center and make them one of the main focuses from beginning to end. Given the lyrical exploration of political, social, and other world events, it makes sense to let this side take the spotlight and allow the anger and raw emotion to shine through. But for as in your face a songs like “Atheist Wife” and “Worst Date” can be, I appreciate the subtlety of the performance on songs like “Shit Breaks”. Here things move to a much softer, almost whispered sung/spoken approach that gets under your skin and these passages have just as much of an impact as the louder ones.
Children feels like a powder keg of noise rock and sludge with more subdued pockets that hint at everything from post hardcore to post metal, and while the band has left themselves with room to further shake up the soft to loud dynamics their debut still has a lot to appreciate. If the group can continue to move seamlessly between more direct, short bursts and sprawling, exploratory moments, they could really find a sound that has its own flair within this space. It’s clear Wealthy Women has plenty to say, so maybe it won’t be too long before we hear even more.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg