Ditz’s newest record Never Exhale comes laden with mystery and a tense atmosphere. The ten tracks that populate the album are angry and loud with Cal Francis’ vocals perfectly accommodate the industrial post-punk feel.

Juxtaposition runs throughout the Brighton band’s sophomore record. There is a constant tug-of-war battle between the two guitars, the pace of the song and the vocals with the backing instruments. This constant contrast heightens the tense, anxious atmosphere of the album, an album where the atmosphere is vital to what makes the project works as a whole. The opening track “V70” works as an opener because it’s purpose is to set the tone of the record and build atmosphere. Being purely instrumental, it does this by building and building, creating a segue into the second song “Taxi Man”.

The band love to build in their songs. By employing this use of slowing down, stripping instruments back before slowly increasing pace and adding the instruments back, they can create tension and emphasise this tension, forcing the listener on edge. The second guitar often plays these haunting note progressions that feel like a heartbeat in the moment of a panic. All of these decisions, some small and not instantly noticeable, further embellish and add to the industrial, dark and gothic-esque atmosphere of the LP.

The lyrics reflect the theme of the album. The idea of a darkened and skeptic, often angry, attitude to the world is reflected in the writing. On ‘God on a Speed Dial’, Francis sings that ‘today I feel like Joseph K’, a reference to the famous Frank Kafka novel The Trial. The frequent use of repetition also aid in this effect, with ‘18 Wheeler’ having the phrase ‘I tried’ being repeated whilst the closer “Britney” repeats” We build and we build and we build and we build’; the instruments echoing this sentiment as they build and build before an explosion of sound signals the end of the LP.

‘Smells Like Something Died In Here’ is a standout track with the guitars sounding like alarms/police sirens and the drums taking centre stage. Opening the song, the drums maintain a consistency while the guitars fall in and out of focus as if on a slider. All of this as a backdrop for apathetic vocals, once again a mirror to the intention of the lyricism. The use of distortion with the guitars create a heaviness on the project, a weight that is carried through the choruses to pack an extra punch, noticeable on ‘Senor Siniestro’.

Never Exhale is a sophomore album that doesn’t hold back, pulling no punches. Embarking into unknown territory, the band push themselves and their limits and in exchange create an emotive and vulnerable LP that bottle the enthusiasm and energy of a live show. There is an intensity in all 10 tracks that feels like it has been bottled at an underground gig of theirs, and in managing to recapture this feeling they are able to better recreate the atmosphere and vibe, that of a gritty and cynical view of the world that is bursting with anger at the world around them – a feeling most people can share in the modern world.

Pre-order Never Exhale by Ditz HERE