Weekly Roundup: December 12th
Featuring Zeal & Ardor, Jesus Piece, Driftless, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Paramore – “The News”
The more I hear of this new Paramore record, the more I think we’re in for possibly the most topical album in the group’s discography. This is the second single from their upcoming sixth studio album, This Is Why, due for release on February 10th through Atlantic Records. It’s a track with big Bloc Party meets Minus The Bear energy (here for that), and it finds frontwoman Hayley Williams railing against performative activism and media manipulation in the cultural aftermath of the pandemic. Watch the video for “The News” below:
Zeal & Ardor – Firewake b/w Cinq
It’s weird to think that the experimental/black metal project Zeal & Ardor originally got its start from a possibly trolling 4Chan prompt to mix “black metal with African American slave chants.” Yikes. And yet, almost ten years and three albums later, Swiss/American artist and mastermind Manuel Gagneux is still out here crafting eclectic metal fusion. The two-track single Firewake b/w Cinq is out now through Sub Pop Records and follows the release of the group’s self-titled album earlier this year. Stream in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Casey – “Great Grief”
When Welsh post-hardcore quintet Casey called it a day back in 2018, there was a not-insignificant portion of alternative music lovers who died a little inside. However, fear not, for just four short years later, the group is back at it again, fresh-faced and focused on their new reunion single. According to frontman Tom Weaver, the track’s lyrics focus on how “proliferating [his] pain” through cathartic performances eventually turned into a desire for introspection and self-acceptance. Listen to “Great Grief” here.
Hail the Void – Memento Mori
Unitl this week, I didn’t know that the annual Doomed and Stoned Awards were even a thing, let alone that Canadian psych/doom Hail the Void took out the inaugural honour for Best Debut Album in 2020. On their sophomore follow-up, Memento Mori (out February 17th through Ripple Music), the B.C. boys are using the mentorship of Blasko (bassist for Ozzy Osbourne) to craft a sonic slab of gripping melodies, earth-quaking riffage and soaring vocals. It’s loud, award-winning stuff. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Resignation – “Eddie Kingston”
Newcomers Resignation are an emo quintet from Toledo, Ohio, who do a churning, melodic take on punk rock that’ll appeal to fans of Hot Water Music, Grade, Silent Majority, Split Lip, Fairweather, etc. In their own words, the band: “Write songs about your head & your heart.” The band’s latest single sounds like a modern revamp of Texas Is The Reason and Sunny Day Real Estate, and is taken from their forthcoming EP release, You Are More Than Right Now, for Friend Club Records. Listen to “Eddie Kingston” here.
Driftless – Perfect Blue
I first came across Minnesota post-rockers Driftless through the release of their The Greatest Need album in 2020. On their latest project, the three-track Perfect Blue EP, the Minneapolis trio deliver gorgeous songwriting with shimmering and intricately woven textures. It’s definitely on the more cinematic, restrained end of the subgenre, and should excite fans of EITS, Caspian, and Mayshewill. The EP was also mixed and mastered by engineer mastermind Will Yip (Code Orange, Balance & Composure, The Menzingers), so you just know it sounds lush as hell, too. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Jesus Piece – “An Offering to the Night”
We haven’t heard from Pennsylvania hardcore outfit Jesus Piece in a long while, but after four years, the quintet are back with an almighty racket. They’ve announced their signing to Century Media Records with a shiny new single in the form of the heavy-hitting mosh anthem, “An Offering To The Night. It’s a terse, percussive rager that rests on crushing rhythms and vocalist Aaron Heard’s bile-spitting vocal performance. I’m looking forward to a new album announcement for 2023, as the follow-up to 2018’s Only Self LP. Watch the video for “An Offering to the Night” below:
Fire Man – Yerself Is Fire
Fire Man is the solo project from multi-instrumentalist Caio Brentar, who’s also the guitarist for the NYC post-hardcore band Died and a (frequently hilarious) music critic and YouTuber under the alias of Punk Revolution Now. Brentar’s debut album is titled Yerself Is Fire, and it’s out independently on January 13th through Bandcamp. If you’re even remotely interested in the weird and eclectic end of post-hardcore, or you’ve found yourself entertained by acts like Unwound, Nirvana, Fugazi, and Sonic Youth, then check this one out. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Woods of Desolation – The Falling Tide
In my humble opinion, Australia’s Woods of Desolation is one of the underrated masters of the “blackgaze” or atmospheric black metal sound. I fell in love with WoD—which like most black metal projects, is now a one-man band from a mastermind known simply as D.—through the release of 2014’s As the Stars, which followed hot on the heels of Deafheaven's Sunbather (2013) and Alcest’s Les Voyages de l'âme (2012).
D.’s latest record, The Falling Tide, out now through Season of Mist, is the first batch of new music since that record, and feels like a spiritual successor in every facet. Cuts like “Illumination” and the record’s title track wander through twinkling guitar leads, chiming tremolos, and emotive textures, while D.’s anguished wails are drenched in a palpable, existential desperation. Coming in at a brisk thirty-five minutes, The Falling Tide doesn’t overstay it’s welcome, instead relying on an affective dimension of urgency that’s often found lacking in the subgenre.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2022 TUNES playlist, updated weekly.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
It’s officially End-of-Year list season (more on that later this week), and your boy has been spreading the love all over the Internet. Check out the lists below for recommendations from me and many other talented writers/critics. Enjoy!
Also, don’t forget the pod! Yes, we have a podcast now. Give it a listen!