Austin-meets-Glasgow duo SKLOSS and married couple—Karen Skloss (drums/vocals) and Sandy Carson (guitar/vocals)—have sculpted a hypnotic, fuzz-drenched world in The Pattern Speaks, a debut record that fuses heavy psychedelia, post-metal intensity, and an undercurrent of dreamy, cinematic storytelling. Their lockdown-born project has evolved from living room experiments into a visceral, sonic force, culminating in this, their first foray into the long format released via Fuzz Club Records.
The band offer us this insight into the themes at play on the album.
“Traveller to traveller – The Pattern Speaks is a message in a bottle, a cosmic plea for assistance from the stars, space aliens, or non-human intelligence. It also hints at a way out of our self-made cycles of drudgery and inhumanity.”
That said, let’s drop the needle and dive in.
We open on the title track, a manifesto. From the very first note the ominous vibes are oozing out the speakers. Skloss’s vocals emerge like a ghostly transmission, echoing and layered, shifting between eerie chants and half-spoken declarations. Then it begins. A thunderous, rolling drum pattern pummels forward, reminiscent of Neu!’s motorik propulsion but drenched in doom-laden fuzz. Carson’s guitar churns out cyclical, crushing chords, building an oppressive yet hypnotic momentum. This is a potent opener and sets the scene for what’s to come.
Shifting gears, ‘Mind Hive’ is built around an undulating, syncopated groove that feels like it’s perpetually teetering on the edge of collapse. The interplay between Carson’s fuzz-soaked guitar lines and Skloss’s tight and in your face, drumming creates an unsettling tension, like watching a film on a loop with each frame slightly out of sync. There’s an undercurrent of paranoia here—perhaps alluding to social media echo chambers or the way thoughts can become cyclical, inescapable mazes.
If ‘Mind Hive’ hinted at anxiety, ‘Imagine 100 Dads’ throws itself into full-blown existential panic. A jagged, minimalist punk approach gives this track a sense of urgency, with Carson’s guitar lines skittering between post-hardcore dissonance and classic garage-rock snarl. Opening in a minimal tempo and pared back sound the song slowly evolves into an intergalactic voyage through a black hole.
The most overtly doom-laden track on the album, ‘Dead Bone’ oozes with tension. A creeping bassline underpins cavernous drums, while Carson’s guitar work oscillates between funereal, single-note passages and crushing walls of distortion. When this song erupts the wall of sound is overwhelming and at volume fair moves the air. It’s an exhilarating listen and fans of the genre are going to wallow in this one.
Opening with an instant of reflection—if only momentarily. ‘Snorkels Ask’ reveals a warm, enveloping drone, its serpentine guitar tones creating an almost meditative atmosphere. It’s the closest the album comes to post-rock, allowing space for textures to bloom and evolve over its runtime. Skloss’s vocal chants breaking through from time to time like an echo of a memory.
The most structurally unpredictable track on the album, ‘Upper Attic’ careens between tempos and moods like a fever dream. Angular, almost math-rock riffs stutter and twist, while the vocals take on an almost spoken-word cadence, conjuring images of forgotten spaces. The track builds to a delirious, fuzz-soaked climax which leaves us breathless and buoyant.
A cosmic freakout of the highest order. If ‘Upper Attic’ was claustrophobic, ‘Plugged Into Jupiter’ is the sound of being shot into the stratosphere. The guitars begin calmly picking out their delayed siren call, lulling us into a false sense of security. Skloss’s drumming picking out the vital beats. Then we take off and the drums take on an almost tribal urgency. The guitars roaring like jet engines. There’s an underlying theme of escape here—perhaps from earthly concerns, perhaps from our own being. The middle section sees the instrumentation revert back to the calm of the intro before re-emerging, transformed, for a final, triumphant explosion.
Fittingly, the album closes with its most haunting track. ‘Ghosts Are Entertaining’ is built around a compelling guitar line that sounds like it’s echoing from another dimension. The drums and guitar are in perfect sympatico, just listen to how the drum rolls mirror the riffs. The ghosts in question? Well, they aren’t just spirits—they’re memories, past selves, lingering thoughts that refuse to fade. The final moments of the track, where all instrumentation drops out except for a single, sustained feedback note, leave you suspended in uncertainty.
The Pattern Speaks is an album that doesn’t just ask to be heard—it demands to be felt. It’s a journey through repetition, chaos, and fleeting moments of beauty, a sonic representation of trying to find meaning in the patterns of existence. SKLOSS have crafted a debut that is as unsettling as it is mesmerizing, a record that lingers long after the last note fades. So, take the plunge. Let the pattern speak. You might not be ready for what it has to say—but you won’t be able to stop listening.
The Pattern Speaks is out now via Fuzz Club Records and you can also check it out on the SKLOSS Bandcamp page.
You can follow SKLOSS on social media here…..
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