Weekly Roundup: August 9th
Featuring Fotocrime, Sleigh Bells, Kississippi, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die – “Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance”
As a writer, I have a love-hate relationship with verbosity. Sure, you could be clear and concise and use simple, declarative language to say what you mean. But where’s the fun in that? Philly emo outfit The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die (often abbreviated to TWIABP for obvious reasons) gleefully embrace the sheer joy of poeticism, throwing caution to the wind and just chucking words on the page. Well, that and Dark Souls references. Their new album, Illusory Walls, is out October 8th through Epitaph Records, and their lead single “Invading the World of the Guilty as a Spirit of Vengeance” is expansive, soaring and proggy as all hell. Watch the phenomenal video below:
Fotocrime – Heart of Crime
2013’s Sister Faith from Louisville’s Coliseum is one of my all-time favourite punk records. It’s dark, catchy and just a straight-up vibe. For this reason, I’ve dutifully followed everything former frontman, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Ryan Patterson has done since then, including Fotocrime. On his third solo LP, Heart of Crime (out August 27th through Profound Lore Records), Patterson continues to splice his intuitive sense of “electric Southern romanticism” with the spirit of European EDM and post-punk, making for an eclectic yet captivating mix. Stream the LP’s singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Don Broco – “One True Prince”
Last month, I interviewed Don Broco frontman Rob Damiani and asked him about the meaning behind “One True Prince”: the then-unreleased track from their forthcoming album, Amazing Things (out September 17th through SharpTone Records). For Damiani, as it turns out, the track is fundamentally about “insignificance” in the face of the universe’s grand scale. It’s a feeling well captured by the band’s Interstellar-aping video, along with a sonic palette that combines the cosmic weight of Deftones with the raw emotive power of Hum and Sparta. Trust me: it’s a total blast off. Listen to “One True Prince” here.
Kississippi – Mood Ring
It’s finally here! Mood Ring, the latest album from underground indie-pop sensation Kississippi has dropped, and it’s full of sugar-coated sadness and sweet sing-a-long affirmations. On a serious note, Zoe Allaire Reynolds & Co have completely levelled up on this release and I can’t wait for these tracks to pop off and become Tik Tok duets or whatever counts for fame/success/fortune in today’s algorithmic hellscape. Stream the full LP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Unto Others – “Downtown”
With the last 18 months behind them and their comeback effort in full swing, Portland metallers Unto Others have announced the release of their Roadrunner Records debut, Strength, out September 24th. Produced and mixed by metal maestro Arthur Rizk, the new LP promises to further solidify the group’s darkly anachronistic synthesis of ‘80s goth rock and heavy metal for modern audiences. Expect plenty of chunky grooves, epic riffs, and vocalist and guitarist Gabriel Franco’s lofty baritone. Listen to the new single “Downtown” here.
End Game / Living In Fear – Combined Forces
Splits are a notorious beast to pull off. Usually, as a listener, you end up favouring one side more than the other and rarely—if ever—listen all the way through. This is not the case with Combined Forces, the new six-track conglomeration from End Game and Living in Fear. Bringing together heavy hardcore acts from Alberta and Atlanta, this split has the best of both worlds weaponised into a brutalising sonic experience. Beatdowns, sub-drops, bass slides, fight riffs, pit stomps, commanding vocals—it’s all here and it totally rules. Stream the full EP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Sleigh Bells – “Locust Laced”
Okay, so admittedly, I had completely forgotten about Sleigh Bells and resigned them to being a purely 2010s thing in my mind palace. Imagine my surprise when I get suggested the video for “Locust Laced” and find out they have a new record, too? Incredible. Texis (out September 10 via Mom + Pop) finds the duo of Alexis Krauss and Derek Miller (ex-Poison The Well) back on their noise-pop bullshit with jagged riffs, saccharine vocals, and a completely bonkers visual aesthetic. Hell yeah, dude. (Also, is “I feel like dynamite/ I feel like dying tonight” the most 2021 lyric ever?) Watch the wild video for “Locust Laced” below:
LLNN – Unmaker
In my random finds for this week comes Copenhagen outfit LLNN and their upcoming album, Unmaker, out September 24th through Pelagic Records. Described as “dark, heavy, and post-apocalyptic,” lead single “Interloper” certainly fits that bill. It kicks off with this menacingly quiet intro suffused with a Cult of Luna-esque ambience before it all gets sucked down into cosmic doom and the crushing gravity of down-tuned riffage and reality-piercing screams. Stream the LP’s lead singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2021 VIBING playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Triple B Records – America’s Hardcore Volume 5
I’ve been on a big compilation kick lately, so Triple B Record’s latest entry in their America’s Hardcore series could not have come at a better time. Volume 5 is a total monster and has something for everyone: 38 bands from a range of scenes and styles, including hardcore, crossover, punk, power-violence, crust, and more. I won’t review the whole thing here because, well, how could I? So let’s just scroll through the tracklist real quick and I’ll drop some highlights below.
New Inclination? Absolute fire. I need a new EP/LP/anything ASAP. Magnitude are dope and give Turnstile a run for their money in the ‘90s groove stakes. Dead Heat’s “The Hard Reset” sounds like a Metallica B-side and that’s sick. Life’s Question continue to innovate and are easily one of the most interesting bands in hardcore right now. Don’t sleep. Eyes of the Lord is the 100 Demons reunion we want and deserve. Sunami’s contribution sounds like they decided to just shoot an amp with buckshot. Wild. And, wait, Citizen are on here with a sneaky, jangly album B-side? Don’t mind if I do.
Stream here: Bandcamp
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Links to some of my other published work across the Web. Take a look, share if you feel like it, and help a brother out.
