Weekly Roundup: January 23rd
Featuring Fall Out Boy, In Flames, Softcult, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Fall Out Boy – “Love From the Other Side”
Well, 2023’s worst-kept secret is finally out. Legacy pop-punkers Fall Out Boy are back with the lead single from their upcoming eighth studio album, So Much (For) Stardust, out March 24th. It’s a catchy little ditty that harkens back to the urgency of their 2000s-era material (thankfully eliding the Maroon 5-isms of their radio-friendly 2010s output), with a return to producer Neal Avron (From Under The Cork Tree, Infinity On High and Folie à Deux). Frontman Patrick Stump recently told NME that their new album “[isn’t] a throwback record” and that their new single has “[a] very mature bitterness to it.” Watch the fantasy-aping video for “Love From the Other Side” below:
Wednesday – Rat Saw God
Indie-rock darlings Wednesday are capitalizing on a banger 2022 by jumping straight into the release of their fourth studio album, Rat Saw God, which drops on April 7th via Dead Oceans. The record’s latest single, the youthful alt-country barnburner “Chosen To Deserve,” was informed by lead vocalist Karly Hartzman’s experiences growing up in small-town North Carolina, “fucking around and getting into stupid sh*t.” Hell yeah. Relatable. I really enjoyed their last record, Twin Plagues, so I’m eager to give this new one a good thrashing. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
In Flames – “Meet Your Maker”
Alright, let’s cut the shit. This newest In Flames track totally rules, and it’s the best thing they’ve done in 15 years or more. There, I said it. The Swedish melodic death metal pioneers have spent many years and several album cycles wandering through alt-metal and radio-rock territory with mixed results, so it’s nice to see them retool and return to basics on their upcoming fourteenth (!) studio album, Foregone (out February 10th through Nuclear Blast). The quintet sound pumped up and ready to riff on these pre-release singles, and that’s exactly where I want them to be. Listen to “Meet Your Maker” here.
Jazz Tiger – No Future, No Prospects
There’s not a whole lot of info surrounding Melbourne/Naarm alternative outfit Jazz Tiger, but the little we do know sounds cool enough. They’ve got a six-track debut EP coming out soon. It’s titled No Future, No Prospects, and it’s out on February 20th through Brisbane/Meanjin-based label Team Glasses Records. The group also features ex and current members of To The North, Quiet Steps, Inside The Whale, and more, while their Bandcamp page states the EP is for “fans of Sandpit, Minor Ache, Duster.” So, if you’re into emo/alt-rock songs that aren’t afraid to lean on a little algebra, you might wanna suss these guys out. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
As Everything Unfolds – “Ultraviolet”
After teasing us with two tasty singles last year, British melodic metalcore quintet As Everything Unfolds are finally ready to follow up their breakthrough debut album, 2021’sWithin Each Lies The Other. The quintet have been racking up effusive accolades from UK press outlets like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer and Rock Sound, which makes the anticipation surrounding their sophomore full-length, Ultraviolet (out April 21st via Long Branch Records), all the more feverish. Listen to the album’s title track here.
MSPAINT – Post-American
Let's talk about MSPAINT. First of all, great name. Second, the Mississippi outfit has a super unique, striking sound: just bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals—no guitars. And yet, even without axes, the quartet can still conjure up an eclectic sound that brings to mind the best of hardcore punk, lo-fi hip hop, and industrial post-punk. Their debut album Post-American is out on March 10th through Convulse Records and was produced by Ian Shelton (Militarie Gun, Regional Justice Center) along with engineer Taylor Young (Nails, God’s Hate). Stereogum called them a “Band To Watch,” and I’m inclined to agree. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Softcult – “Dress”
Longtime readers will know that I already adore Canadian twin sister duo Softcult. I’ve gushed about them many times before, and now is another one of those times. (You’re welcome.) The duo’s latest single, “Dress,” is taken from their forthcoming see you in the dark EP, out March 24th through Easy Life Records. It’s a vulnerable, super personal cut centred around sexual assault and consent, with guitarist/vocalist Mercedes Horn directing/producing/editing the single’s video, saying quote:
“This song is about consent; it’s about saying ‘no’ and having it happen to you anyway. It’s about being followed while walking alone at night or being cornered in a bar when we're just trying to have a night out with our friends. It’s about the lingering fear and trauma that haunts us long after these experiences have happened. It’s about how these experiences make us feel powerless and change the way we see ourselves.”
Watch the harrowing video for “Dress” below:
The Ocean – Preboreal
German progressive sludge/post-metallers The Ocean are up to some mysterious shenanigans. A countdown clock is currently running on their website, which indicates the sextet are gearing up for something in less than a month’s time. In the interim, they’ve released their latest single, “Preboreal,” which is their first new music since 2020’s critically acclaimed Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic / Cenozoic double album. It’s an incisive and thought-provoking number that lampoons the deficit of critical thinking in contemporary culture while also namedropping the work of Marxist critical theorist Guy Debord and The Society of the Spectacle. Interesting stuff. Stream the standalone single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Riot Stares – Sounds of Acceleration
There’s a profound sense of loss at the heart of Sounds of Acceleration. With guitarist Issy Varoumas passing away in early 2021, the remaining members of Charleston outfit Riot Stares already had an end date in mind and a sense of finality approaching their collective project, resulting in a record that’s caught in a state of bittersweet momentum.
“We were trying to give the sense that you’re stuck in something you don’t have any control of,” said the band on the direction and approach to the album. “That everything’s happening fast, and you can’t slow it down.” On singles like “Trip Chain” and “Relief Technique,” you can almost feel the compositional elements pulling apart, buckling from the stress of the group’s chunky grooves, while back-end cuts like “Dead Issue” and standout “Flow To The Friction” fuse thick ‘n’ fast vocal flows with an as-yet-untapped wellspring of relentless energy.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2023 CUTS playlist, updated weekly.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Are you listening to The Pitch pod? Well, obviously, you should be. And if you’re not… why are you such a hater??!?
Last week saw Lochlan Watt from triple j’s The Racket stop by the show to chat about his upcoming extreme metal festival, Into The Fall, alongside his work for EVP Recordings and his ongoing metal project, RUN (now with a shiny new lineup). Don’t miss this one! Listen at the link below: