Weekly Roundup: December 2nd
Featuring CrazyEightyEight, Upsetter, ASkySoBlack, and more.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Benny Horowitz, drummer for The Gaslight Anthem and co-host of the Going Off Track podcast, joined the show last week to chat about the band returning Down Under for the first time in nearly a decade as part of 2024’s incredibly stacked Good Things lineup (Dec 6-8th).
We also discuss hitting anniversary milestones for 2012’s Handwritten and 2014’s Get Hurt, reforming post-hiatus, consciously avoiding the nostalgia trap, and the creative potential for new music. You can check out our chat below:
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Now, on with the words…
SIDE A:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Bambara – “Pray To Me”
I first came across Bambara through their 2020 breakthrough LP, Stray, and they’ve been scratching my Nick Cave-meets-Iceage itch ever since. The Brooklyn trio have announced their new album, Birthmarks, which will be out on March 14th through Bella Union. On the lead single’s offbeat and noir-esque narrative, vocalist Reid Bateh says:
“‘Pray To Me’ is about a one-eyed man arriving at a country karaoke night with a knife in his pocket and a plan to win over a girl called Elena, the object of his obsession. His fantasy unravels, murderously, when he sees her kissing a stranger at the bar.”
Watch the video for “Pray To Me” below:
Bleeding Through – NINE
I featured Southern California veterans Bleeding Through here back in September, and it seems those standalone single drops were most definitely building to a new release cycle. The sextet’s long-awaited ninth full-length, the obligatory NINE, will arrive on February 14th via SharpTone Records and comes six years after the release of their Love Will Kill All LP.
For vocalist and barrel roll aficionado Brandan Schieppati, NINE “is the culmination of 25 years. This is Bleeding Through in its purest form.” Stream the LP’s pre-release single/s here (Spotify).
ASkySoBlack – “You Sit Useless”
I love a good contrarian take as much as the next painfully online person, so when I read Philadelphia post-hardcore outfit ASkySoBlack described as “anti-shoegaze,” my brain spat out an immediate and resolute “LFGGG!”
The group’s debut full-length album, Touch Heaven, is set for release on January 31st through the good folks over at New Morality Zine, who see the record as taking “a more stripped-down approach, trading sonic variation and heaviness for a focus on melody and emotional depth.” Listen to “You Sit Useless” here.
Upsetter – Distance b/w QLD Don't Get Origin
Speaking of throwbacks to earlier newsletter alumni, Brisbane/Meanjin emo rock meets doomgaze trio Upsetter have come through with a new barn-burning two-track single.
“Distance” was recorded, produced, mixed and mastered with Chris Lalic (Windwaker) and is paired with a bonus ‘demo’ titled “QLD Don’t Get Origin” (IYKYK), which showcases their knack for hooky songwriting and superb vocal layering. Stream the two-track single in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Red Moon Cowboy – “Find Me”
This one slid into my email inbox last week, and I’m glad it did. Red Moon Cowboy hail from the old whaling town of Albany in Western Australia and are “carving their own voice through folkloric and deeply intimate storytelling, characterised by their longing and deep emotional intensity.”
The trio’s latest cut is titled “Find Me”: a heavy, post-punkish “love song gone wrong” with a hypnotic vocal line reminiscent of Roland S Howard, Nick Cave, or even global Aussie success story Dust. Listen to “Find Me” here.
SIDE B:
More tracks for you. Deep cuts for the real heads. Still cool.
Choof – A Very Special Blend of Psychology and Extreme Violence
There’s a scene in the cult classic Aussie film Chopper (2000) where the aforementioned titular gangster, Mr Read (played by a hilariously bleak Eric Bana), stabs a fellow inmate in jail. When the screws inevitably come to retrieve the dying prisoner, Chopper stands by and casually quips, “Oh, Keithy seems to have done himself a mischief. You alright, Keithy?”
If anything about this darkly comic scene resonates with you or piques your interest, you will likely enjoy what Naarm/Melbourne grinders Choof have to offer on their forthcoming LP, A Very Special Blend of Psychology and Extreme Violence (out January 24th through Dead Set Records). Go on, give it a listen. Chop, chop. Stream the LP’s pre-release single/s here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
CrazyEightyEight – “Nightwalker”
It’s been a while since we heard anything from the CrazyEightyEight camp: the musical collaboration between Lauren Babic (Red Handed Denial), former YouTube comedian Jarrod Alonge, and Patty Walters (As It Is).
The post-hardcore outfit are roaring back to relevance with the announcement of Columbarium: a deluxe version of their debut album, 2018’s Burning Alive, featuring two new singles, reimagined versions, and instrumentals, out on December 14th through Boketo Media. The band has also stated that Covers, Vol. 3 is on the way for early 2025, and pre-production is underway for an upcoming full-length album. Watch the clip for “Nightwalker” below:
Spanaway – Songs of Yesteryear
Returning to anti-shoegaze for a second: Does this presuppose the existence of anti-alternative? *Elon Musk voice* “Concerning…” Anyway, Pennsylvania quartet Spanaway will release their new album, Songs of Yesteryear, on December 6th through Burial Whisper Records.
The LP was recorded by Zach Weeks at God City and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), and it deals in dreamy, sad, melancholic anthems of heartbreak propelled by wall-of-sound guitar. Fans of Blanket, Failure, and Hum should get around this ASAP. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
FEATURE ALBUM(S):
A closer, more in-depth look at new record(s) that tick my boxes.
Hidden Mothers – Erosion / Avulsion
On paper, there isn’t a high degree of correlation between “progressive post-hardcore” and the concept of restraint. Progressive impulses typically denote wildly eclectic things: nerdy stylistic fusions, heady instrumentation, the breaking of compositional norms, and other overly ‘pretentious’ concerns. However, not so with Erosion / Avulsion.
On their debut full-length, Sheffield’s Hidden Mothers know how to wield restraint as a creative weapon, letting the “less is more” approach win out over busy compositions and excessive guitar noodling. Instead, one finds shades of black metal, shoegaze, and post-rock peeking through a decidedly 2000s post-hardcore frame. It’s a remarkably patient record, brooding with delicate ambient passages, swelling guitar lines and lofty emotional crests.
When you think you know where a track will go, Hidden Mothers dovetails into an unexpected progression, a haunting refrain, or a quaking-heavy passage and takes things in a new, captivating direction. Erosion / Avulsion allows them to transcend their post-hardcore roots and deliver songs that are visceral and vulnerable, melodic and aggressive, subtle and subversive.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify