Weekly Roundup: December 14, 2020
Featuring Every Time I Die, IDLES, Cult of Luna, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
IDLES – “Kill Them With Kindness”
Fresh off the triumph of their snarling third album, Ultra Mono, English punks IDLES have released their latest single, “Kill Them With Kindness,” where frontman Joe Talbot waxes lyrical about the need for collective empathy in the face of resurgent fascism: “If you wanna beat the machine, keep your teeth clean.” Suss out the black-and-white animated video below:
Undergang – Aldrig I Livet
Not to be put off by the usual ‘December Deficit’ for new releases, Danish death metallers Undergang have dropped one of the heaviest and intense records of 2020. Aldrig I Livet (“Never in my life” for those playing at home in English) is chock full of bone-saw HM-2 riffs, doom-laden passages, and a pervasive atmosphere of hastily descending darkness. If that sounds like your kind of thing, then stream the full record here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Every Time I Die – “A Colossal Wreck” & “Desperate Pleasures”
It’s been four long, long years since we last heard from the Buffalo City brawlers Every Time I Die. Since then we’ve had to deal with the rise of Trumpism, flat earthers, climate deniers, a global pandemic, and whatever the fuck QAnon is screaming about this week. All of this and more appears to be fuelling vocalist and author Keith Buckley’s lyrical screeds on the group’s scorching new material. Check out two pre-release tracks from the group here and here.
Tigers Jaw – I Won’t Care How You Remember Me
Described as a “hopeful time capsule of a band who has been through a lot together,” Pennsylvanian indie-rockers Tigers Jaw have gone introspective on their newest full-length record, I Won’t Care How You Remember Me (out March 2021 through Hopeless Records). Singles “Cat’s Cradle” and “Lemon Mouth” shimmer with bright and breezy instrumental soundscapes, serving to make the group’s brooding lyrical themes of family, aging, and loneliness all the more palatable and relatable. Stream the singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Eyehategod – “High-Risk Trigger”
After a seven-year slumber, NOLA sludge-lords Eyehategod have surfaced from the deep once more to reveal the details for their upcoming sixth album, A History of Nomadic Behavior (scheduled for release in March 2021). Lead single “High-Risk Trigger” is exactly what I desire from the Louisiana quintet: crushing heaviness, screeching vocals, and thick-as-molasses riffage. Check out the track here.
Bantha Rider – Binary Sunset Massacre
What’s better than good ol’ fashioned stoner metal escapism? Ah, Star Wars-themed stoner metal escapism, obviously. Across the eight mammoth tracks that comprise the exceptionally titled Binary Sunset Massacre, Polish riff merchants Bantha Rider provide the perfect soundtrack to the hives of scum and villainy that populate the desolate and unforgiving terrain of Tattooine. If you wish to take a journey to a galaxy far, far away, jump to hyperspace here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
We Set Sail – “Well, That's 13 Years of My Life I'll Never Get Back”
It may have taken six different people four-and-half years to complete, but it’s finally here: the long-anticipated, third studio album from Brisbane sad-rock collective, We Set Sail. Clocking in at just a hair under a full hour, and with a 14-deep tracklist to boot, Ritual and Ceremony is set to be one of the best Aussie releases of 2021. Watch the video for new track “Well, That’s 13 Years of My Life I’ll Never Get Back” below:
Cult of Luna – The Raging River
Swedish post-metal titans Cult of Luna are all set to unveil their newest release, a five-track record titled The Raging River (out February 2021). On the monolithic “Three Bridges,” the Umeå sextet comes together for a restless performance anchored by churning rhythms, luscious sonic textures, guitarist and engineer Magnus Líndberg’s rich production, and the haunting bellows of Johannes Persson and Kristian Karlsson. Find more album details here: (Bandcamp/Spotify).
You also can find all these tracks on the TPD December playlist, updated each week.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Respire – Black Line
I’m a huge sucker for samples in music. I can’t really explain why, but there’s just something about little snippets of film dialogue or miscellaneous speeches set to ambient background passages that give me involuntary goosebumps. Like hearing famed linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky describe the plight of the proletariat in the face of neoliberal capitalism on the intro to Her Nightmare’s Come Anarchy, Come Ruin. Or listening to We Lost The Sea drift away on a cosmic voyage to the stars, set to President Ronald Reagan’s tearful remarks following the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and her crew.
On the ambitious Black Line, Ontario screamo/post-metal outfit Respire manage to channel this exact feeling on the explosive track “Lost Virtue”. This six-and-half-minute opus opens with mournful violin and swirling distortion, as the oneiric voice of American author and activist Chris Hedges—echoing the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard—makes an impassioned plea for us to disavow the separation of intellect from emotion and empathy that has doomed Western civilization. It makes for a beautiful and haunting passage, delivered with pathos by Respire’s six members and their expansive roster of performing guests, who fuse gut-wrenching string sections with visceral screamo to form molten shards of post-metal angst.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Links to some of my other published work across the Web. Take a look and help a brother out.
Okay, look, this isn’t my work at all. It’s been a busy week—give me a break. Instead, here’s a link to The HU’s epic cover of “Sad But True” featuring a totally bonkers mash-up of Western rock, metal, and throat-singing. Also, someone in the comments called this ‘Mongollica’, and I am totally about that. Enjoy!
I love reading these newsletters each week. Thanks for all the music recs!