Ptolemea - Maze (FinestNoiseReleases)

Ptolemea are a new band from Luxembourg, and their grunge-inspired sound calls to mind the 90s alt rock of bands like Soundgarden and Alice in Chains. Their debut EP Maze is set to come out this month, and the songs perfectly capture the emotional extremes which characterize the genre. In fact, Claude Lévi-Strauss would have a field day with this release, because the songs are all about the bipolarity of life between good and evil, light and dark, etc. Uncovering this EP is like stumbling upon a universe where grunge never faded in popularity and was allowed to continue to grow and develop, because Ptolemea are constantly experimenting and toying with conventions.

There have been a number of bands in recent years who have begun playing with this style once again, but Ptolemea are among the few who dare to explore and stretch the genre to its breaking point. In doing so, their music always sounds fresh and exciting. Songs like “I Wish I Could” are mini operas contained within themselves, and singer Priscila Da Costa’s vocals resemble Siouxsie’s in their carefully-calculated dramatic intensity. Sometimes the band strips things back like the brooding, acoustic “Isolated,” but they are really at their peak when they unabashedly explore their lush, full-bodied sonic potential on highlights such as “Maze” and “Time Has Come.” Maze is out March 13th on FinestNoiseReleases.