Weekly Roundup: December 6th
Featuring Cult of Luna, Bloc Party, Cloakroom, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Cloakroom – “A Force At Play”
Indiana fuzz merchants Cloakroom are blasting off with a new dreamy space-rock mood setter, “At Force At Play.” The sprawling track is taken from the band’s forthcoming album, Dissolution Wave (out January 28th through Relapse Records) and is but one piece in the LP’s larger thematic concept: “A space western in which an act of theoretical physics—the dissolution wave—wipes out all of humanity’s existing art and abstract thought. In order to keep the world spinning on its axis, songsmiths must fill the ether with their compositions.” Watch the deliciously playful video for “A Force At Play” below:
Bloc Party – Alpha Games
2000s indie-rock luminaries Bloc Party have announced their sixth studio LP and the follow-up to 2016’s Hymns. Produced by Nick Launay and Adam Greenspan (IDLES, Refused, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds), Alpha Games is out April 29th through Infectious/BMG. Lead single “Traps” finds the London quartet fusing their penchant for driving rhythms with urban post-punk soundscapes. This is the most energetic Bloc Party have sounded in years, so I’m excited to see where Alpha Games takes them. Stream “Traps” here (Spotify).
Modern Life Is War – “Survival”
Hardcore legends Modern Life Is War are back with a ferocious new single and the third volume of their ongoing Tribulation Worksongs series. “Survival” bristles with full-throttle punk energy and Jeffrey Eaton’s impassioned lyricism, as the frontman rails against suffering and social injustice in these dire times. The band are truly some of the best to do ever do it, so it’s a real joy to hear them churn out new ragers with semi-regularity. Listen to “Survival” here.
Tuskar – Matriarch
Matriarch, the highly anticipated debut album from UK sludge metallers Tuskar, will be out February 25th through Church Road Records. The duo of guitarist Tim Dimmock and vocalist/drummer Tyler Hodges deal exclusively in massive, lumbering, riff-heavy compositions that sheer wildly between angular ferocity, brooding doom, and psychedelic ephemera. Fans of Mastodon, Torche, and Khemmis should definitely seek this one out. Stream the LP’s pre-release single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Chastity – “Vicious Circle” feat. City and Colour
In what’s likely a dream come true, Ontario singer/songwriter Brandon Williams aka Chastity has teamed up with Canadian national treasure Dallas Green of City and Colour and post-hardcore outfit Alexisonfire for the yearning single, “Vicious Circle.” The track sports a stellar chorus with exceptional vocal interplay between Williams and Green, and appears on Chastity’s upcoming album, Suffer Summer, out January 13th via Deathwish Inc/Dine Alone Records. Listen to “Vicious Circle” here.
Masochist – Bloom
Lismore/Bundjalung hardcore punk outfit Masochist are finally dropping their debut full-length album Bloom on January 21st through Rage and Reason Records. I was a huge fan of the band’s 2018 Blinded EP, which paired urgent social commentary on sexual assault, mental illness, misogyny, and systemic racism with snarling feminist aggression. Bloom was recorded, mixed and mastered by Al Pegg at Old Dog Studios, and features stunning artwork from Jade Young. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Cult of Luna – “Cold Burn”
When I covered Cult of Luna’s The Raging River EP back in February, I talked about how the band’s cinematic post-metal benefits from a cultivated sense of immersion. Well, with the announcement of the band’s ninth full-length album, The Long Road North (out February 11th through Metal Blade Records), it seems that the Swedish sextet are leaning right into that dimension of their sound. Created with the Unreal Engine, the entrancing video for the album’s lead single “Cold Burn” features stunning graphic renderings and acts as the perfect visual accompaniment to the band’s towering musical compositions. Watch below:
Spidergawd – VI
While Spidergawd are a new band on my radar, it does seem like they’ve been around for some time, given that they’re already well onto their forthcoming sixth LP (out December 10 through Crispin Glover). The Norweigan rock supergroup includes Per Borten (Cadillac, New Violators), Kenneth Kapstad (Motorpsycho), Rolf Martin Snustad (Hopalong Knut), Brynjar Takle Ohr (El Cuero), and Hallvard Gaardløs, and together the quintet create a fun and playful mix of desert rock, psych and sax sounds—think Baroness but with more boogie. Stream the album’s pre-release singles here (Spotify).