Queen Kwong's debut EP and first LP -- 2011's Bad Lieutenant and 2015's Get a Witness -- delivered a kind of feral and defiant rock & roll attitude that's arguably been somewhat absent from alternative music in the late 2010s, and the band continue in this vein with their sophomore LP, Love Me to Death. Ferocious and atmospheric, the album packs in a refreshingly eclectic sound palette for a guitar band. Carr Callaway's introspective and confessional lyrics on songs like "Rapture" are wonderfully complemented by stringent, buzzy basslines, reverberated guitar leads, and pummeling percussion. "The Happiest Place" is another highlight too. Its morose acoustic guitar, rollicking drums, and stacked walls of distortion carry Callaway's morose, lullaby-esque vocals to a brilliantly noisy crescendo recalling Swans' later work, especially on 2012's The Seer. Love Me to Death closes with another meltingly loud and cacophonous track in "Sun of Life," that effectively encapsulates all of Queen Kwong's skills. It's nice to hear a rock band return to the kind of songwriting focused on pure feeling and gloomy atmosphere in such a way that feels honest and unafraid, and Love Me to Death demonstrates this brilliantly. ~ Rob Wacey
