Decortica’s New Album – Alt Sludge?

2012 has been a great year not only for solid metal releases but also ambitious heavy rock. As I’ve probably said in too many posts on this site, a lot of interesting music has come out of the Australasian region of the world. New Zealand makes their presence and beards known in Auckland’s Decortica.

(1:40 is all kinds of win)

Decortica showed up on my radar with 2010’s Love Hotel, probably my favorite EP-length release to come out that year. The mysteriously titled new album 11811 continues the group’s custom Muse-gone-Diamond Eyes branch of stylin’ alt rock that fans of either group or anything remotely Australian-sounding should find pretty darn peachy. Vocalist and lone guitarist Mathew Bosher has a pretty unusual style that juxtaposes clean chromatic riffs with crunchy sludge breaks that would sound heavy in just about any Isis song. It’s made all the more interesting by his soothing and screechy vocal deliveries and Tory Staples’ tasty left of center groove assortment. And the songs are pretty wicked too.

You can stream 11811 in its entirety right here. Save a spot on your shelf next to Dead End Kings and Koi No Yokan for this one.