Young Widows : Power Sucker
Tracing the long path of Young Widows is as choppy and turbulent as the sonic blitz this Kentucky trio dredge up. Born from the ashes of post-hardcore noiseniks Breather Resist in the mid-aughts, the group’s output could be sliced into two halves: before 2014 and after. From their inception in 2006, Young Widows proved a prolific outfit, busting out of the gate by belting out four albums of barbed and sludgy aggro-post-punk that satiated the appetites of those clamoring for Shellac, Jesus Lizard and Unwound-type melt-your-face precision. Then, following the grungy epic Easy Pain (‘14), Young Widows went M.I.A.
Eleven long-assed calamitous years have managed to fly by but there lies a bright spot: Young Widows have finally returned from their self-imposed exile and with it yielding renewed urgency and purpose through their trademark noisy rock murk. On Power Sucker, guitarist and vocalist Evan Patterson, bassist and vocalist Nick Thieneman and drummer Jeremy McMonigle re-emerge like a ball of fire with the weight of a decade’s-plus worth of pent-up aggression on their backs, in part due to the absolute dumpster fire the modern world has become and let loose like there’s no tomorrow.
Power Sucker goes full throttle on every level: in the technical, vulnerable and blood-boiling rage senses. During the subsequent years of Young Widows’ hiatus, the trio sharpened their attack; there’s certainly a more accessible sheen, the buried-in-the-mix wails more discernible and the load of infectious hooks indelible. But while there may be a little bit less of the grime that marked previous releases, not to worry: the polished Power Sucker is still quintessential Young Widows. In fact, this older and wiser Young Widows have seemingly dwelled on the last eleven flat-out fucked years and are conveying that anger, darkness and claustrophobia in the abstract, equipped with a cutthroat pummel.
Album opening ripper, “The Darkest Side,” instantly sets the frenzied tone, running roughshod while expressing a healthy dose of self-reflection that sees Patterson suffering through a downward spiral only to dig himself out of the doldrums. Lyrically, there’s a lot to dissect as chief songwriters Patterson and Thieneman wear their hearts on their sleeves, showing an unfiltered side not necessarily a Young Widows hallmark but undoubtedly adding a new dimension into their aesthetic. Case in point: there’s a song fittingly titled “Total Fucking Clarity” so their clear-cut aim rings true. Sonically and methodically, the trio has never sounded better and more pointed. Thieneman’s fuzz-bathed low end particularly groovy and oh so heavy and Patterson’s riffage oozing with blues-damaged sludge. The superior gut-punch of the first three songs is evidence of that crushing dynamic. “The Darkest Side,” “Every Bone” and “Call Your Bullshit” (arguably, the shout-along anthem of 2025 thus far) are next-level catchy verse/chorus rippers. They also mix it up, slowing it down Sabbathian stoner style at times by delving into lurching head bangers such as “Exit Slowly,” the title track and “The Holy Net.”
Power Sucker shows Young Widows powering themselves out of the abyss and are all the better for it. As Patterson waxes poetic on the chorus of the standout and telling track “Turned Out Alright”: “Turned out alright for a punk rock kid.” Sure has.
Label: Temporary Residence
Year: 2025
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Young Widows : Power Sucker
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