Chicago-based Griefeater continue their evolution with The Trouble With Being Born, a standout track from their debut record Worn, following two self-produced EPs that laid the groundwork for what comes next. The song, much like the rest of the album, feels like a threshold moment of a band stepping fully into itself during a period of deep contemplation.
The track moves with the patience of slowcore, and eventually drifts into shoegaze’s blurred extents, creating a quietly overwhelming piece.
Bringing to mind acts like Greet Death, Nothing, and Midwife, The Trouble With Being Born balances dynamics with restraint. It rises slowly and collapses hard, with the result being strangely comforting, like wistfulness pressed into muscle and bone.
As part of the all around superb Worn, the track represents the latest and most sentimentally charged incarnation of Griefeater yet.
ZR