Weekly Roundup: February 14th
Featuring Excide, Carpenter Brut, Helpless, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Mothica – “Casualty”
L.A. singer-songwriter Mothica has dropped a new single from her forthcoming sophomore record, Nocturnal, due out later this year through her own label imprint Heavy Heart Records, in partnership with Rise Records/BMG. It’s a catchy pop banger that sits firmly in Mothica’s alt-gothic wheelhouse. Watch the video for “Casualty” below:
Excide – LP Promo
One of the most exciting acts of 2022, Carolina quintet Excide have teased the upcoming release of their debut full-length (out later this year through the good folks over at New Morality Zine) with a new two-track ‘while-you-wait’ LP Promo. It’s a diverse sampler of talent, with each track exploring the group’s stylistic influences and impactful hardcore pedigree. Stream the LP’s promo singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Slowly Slowly – “Nothing On”
Slowly Slowly’s previous stand-alone single, “Blueprint,” was one of my favourite tracks of 2021. And now, proving that lightning can indeed strike twice, the Melbourne quartet have returned with another absolute banger. “Nothing On” finds Slowly Slowly descending even deeper into the smokey layers of exhilarating dancefloor pop and the results literally speak (or sing rather) for themselves. It’s a total vibe and fun as hell. Listen to “Nothing On” here.
Darkness Everywhere – The Seventh Circle
On their debut EP for Creator-Destructor Records, The Seventh Circle (out February 25th), Oakland metallers Darkness Everywhere waste little time in aping melodic death metal’s Holy Trinity: In Flames, At the Gates, and Dark Tranquillity. Thankfully, though, there’s more than just worship going on here, with vocalist/guitarist/drummer Ben Murray and guitarist Cameron Stucky having spent time in acts like Light This City and Crepuscle, while producer Zack Ohren (Machine Head, All Shall Perish) lends his skills on bass. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Helpless – “The Empty Gesture”
With an aural assault that’s certainly not for the faint of heart, Helpless are determined to drop one of the most intense listening experiences of 2022. Caged In Gold, out March 25th through Church Road Records, is the upcoming album from the UK-based grindcore/noise outfit and the follow-up to their 2017 debut album, Debt. Their newest single is a perfect example of the band’s approach to sonic chaos: jarring rhythmic tumults, angular riffage, cannon-fire drumming, and a caustic vocal cavalcade reminiscent of groups like Cult Leader, Nails, and Full of Hell. Listen to “The Empty Gesture” here.
Big Nothing – Dog Hours
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s just something so endearing and soothing about Philly rockers Big Nothing. I’ve only heard two tracks from the band’s upcoming sophomore full-length, Dog Hours (out February 18th from Lame-O Records), and yet each one has been a perfect little slice of upbeat guitar pop with an alt-country backdrop, effortlessly held aloft by the big hooks and harmonies of guitarist/vocalist Matt Quinn, bassist/vocalist Liz Parsons, and guitarist/vocalist Pat Graham. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Downcast – “A Weight That I Can’t Stand”
With a huge, confident sound that combines the very best of emo, alt-rock and pop-punk, it’s undeniable that Bristol quartet Downcast have big things on the cards this year. The group’s debut album I Saw Hell When I Was With You is out March 4th and it’s stacked with hits from front to back. Their latest single, “A Weight That I Can’t Stand” is a prime example of the talent on display here, with a stratospheric chorus hook propelled along by intricate guitar leads and a driving rhythm section. Watch the video for “A Weight That I Can’t Stand” below:
Carpenter Brut – LEATHER TERROR
On the long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s widely acclaimed Leather Teeth, French synthwave master Carpenter Brut is back with another slab of eerie bangers, this time taking the form of a soundtrack for a fictional horror movie from 1987. Leather Terror is set for release on April 1st via Universal/No Quarter Prod and features the electric lead single “Imaginary Fire” with guest vocals from Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, Killer Be Killed, The Black Queen). Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2022 TUNES playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Cult of Luna – The Long Road North
If The Raging River, Cult of Luna’s previous 2021 EP release, was all about immersion and pulling the listener deeper and deeper into the sextet’s labyrinthian post-metal structure, then The Long Road North is an exercise in transportation.
The entire LP rests on the idea of narrative momentum, where the listener is carried through each movement like a wanderer across a barren landscape, filling in the scene around them with their own memories, hopes and desires. And nowhere is this more apparent than on album standout “Blood Upon Stone,” the record’s near-twelve-minute penultimate track.
Vocalist Johannes Persson roars about bleeding stars and stagnant suns against colossal cliffs of synchronised riffage in the track’s first minutes before everything gradually fades and slips away. What remains is a tense, quaking abyss of ambience, penetrating the listener’s conscious awareness with a delicate, melodic guitar refrain that circles this sonic cavern like a distant echo.
When the crescendo rises and is eventually let loose with all of Cult of Luna’s instrumental force, quickfire bursts of snare bring kineticism back to the journey for a triumphant finish, thrusting the lonely traveller back on to that road once more: “What’s left is an empty void/ Your star is fading.”