Water Damage – “Reel 25”

It’s always a good time for the brutal pummel of Austin’s Water Damage. The sprawling noise unit follows quickly on their album, In E, from last year with news a new crusher for 12xU. The new record, Instruments, finds the usual wrecking crew augmented with the addition of two familiar names. Patrick Shiroishi adds his sax to the album opener and David Grubbs crops up on guitar on two tracks. First taste, “Reel 25,” is a slow burn build to the band’s usual monolithic mayhem. The 20+ minute track gathers doom from every corner of the universe and aims it directly into the maw of the listener. As much as we’ve ever need ‘em, it feels like 2025 is the kind of year when Water Damage makes the most sense, a feral cry that rises up from the masses. There’s smoke and bile at the heart of “Reel 25,” and it feels just right. The new album, Instruments, is out May 16th from 12xU.

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