MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
PUP – “Robot Writes A Love Song”
Toronto pop-punk princes PUP are set to return with their highly anticipated fourth LP, the suitably self-deprecatingly titled THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND. The album was co-produced with Peter Katis (The National, Interpol) and will be released on April 1st through Little Dipper/Rise Records. The new record features the previously released “Waiting” alongside their recent single, “Robot Writes A Love Song.” Watch the video below:
Ghost Fame – Nobody Wants To Be Here, Nobody Wants To Leave
Carrying the torch for the New England sound into a bold new decade, melodic hardcore upstarts Ghost Fame will drop their new EP, Nobody Wants To Be Here, Nobody Wants To Leave, through Patient Zero Records on February 18th. With production/engineering maestro Jay Maas (ex-Defeater) behind the boards, the Massachusetts quintet pull together a visceral collection of tunes that will likely resonate with fans of Have Heart, Verse, and The Carrier. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
L’exquisite Douleur – “From Dusk Till Dawn”
I’ve been keeping an eye on Florida’s L’exquisite Douleur for a few months now, ever since I came across their excellent track “I’ll Be Late For My Funeral” all the way back in April. While there’s been no word on a new release or extended project, the band’s latest single is yet another stellar entry in early MCR worship done right. Gothic presentation, upbeat composition with dark lyricism, and a catchy chorus hook—what’s not to love? Fingers crossed for a debut full-length sometime this year. Listen to “From Dusk Till Dawn” here.
Undeath – It’s Time...To Rise From the Grave
There’s definitely an art to inspired sample choices in metal tracks. In “Winter Wolves,” The Sword choose an epic wolf’s howl. For Unto Others, it’s the majestic cry of an eagle in “Destiny.” And now, Rochester, NY metallers Undeath have decided to crack the sky with Thor’s wrath, rolling thunder and lightning into their devastating death metal repertoire. 2020’s Lesions Of A Different Kind was messy, brutal and a whole lot of fun, so I anticipate that It’s Time… To Rise From The Grave (out April 21st through Prosthetic Records) will scratch the same itch. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Moodring – “Disintegrate”
I’d not encountered Moodring before this week, but there’s a whole lot to enjoy in their Deftones-lite approach to an infinitely malleable alt-metal meets post-hardcore hybrid. While the Florida quartet are fresh off a signing to UNFD and only appear to have one EP to their name, lead vocalist Hunter Young’s impeccable pipes lend a captivating air to their most recent single’s ruminations on hopelessness and regret. Listen to the ethereal “Disintegrate” here.
Camp Cope – Running with the Hurricane
Melbourne troubadours Camp Cope are finally back with another slab of raw and emotional stripped-back belters. The trio’s new record, Running With the Hurricane (named after the song of the same name by Aussie folk outfit Redgum, of which frontwoman Georgia Maq’s late father was a member), is out on March 25th via Poison City Records/Run For Cover Records, and acts as the follow-up to 2018’s How to Socialise & Make Friends. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Ghost – “Call Me Little Sunshine”
The dark lord’s congregation will soon be back in service with the coming of IMPERA, the forthcoming fifth studio album from Grammy Award-nominated Swedish metal/hard rock outfit Ghost (out March 11th through Loma Vista Recordings). The new LP promises to be another collection of melodious, occult-inflected bangers from theatrical mastermind Tobias Forge aka Papa Emeritus IV, leader of A Group of Nameless Ghouls and definitely not Cardinal Copia. Watch the video for “Call Me Little Sunshine” below:
SOM – The Shape of Everything
Sometimes, in my line of work, subgenre descriptors or labels are hastily slapped on a band or an album in a lazy effort to sound interesting or inventive. Fortunately, this is not the case with “doom pop” outfit SOM. On their towering new record, The Shape of Everything, the group (comprised of current and former members of Constants, Junius, and Caspian) embody this ‘sounds like’ moniker in the truest sense of those two words. Glacial post-metal compositions, churning riffs, and mammoth walls of fuzz slowly grind and collapse around bright airy melodies, gorgeous layered harmonies, and dizzying lyrical earworms. It’s a real treat. Stream the LP in full 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.
Anxious – Little Green House
Memory haunts Little Green House, the debut studio album from Anxious. Considering that the young Connecticut outfit formed in 2016 while most members were still in high school, and spent much of 2020 pouring over their early material in the search for their creative essence, this focus on reflection makes sense. On “Your One Way Street,” the album’s kinetic two-minute opening track, vocalist Grady Allen remarks that “the best memories haunt me” before the track’s chorus bursts into a confident meditation on acceptance: “Feeling something’s leaving/ I can’t change what’s happening.”
With any young group, there’s always a consideration around the anxiety of influence. Reading the bio for the record, legacy acts are gleefully thrown around with abandon: Texas Is The Reason, Samiam, Turning Point, Lifetime and Sense Field. And sure, it’s an eclectic mix, but in their move from hardcore home Triple B Records to the more rounded Run For Cover Records, the young quintet had ample time on their hands, patiently moulding these disparate influences into a seamless blend of alt-rock, shoegaze and melodic hardcore. And the results speak for themselves.
The Title Fight-aping single “In April” runs straight into the bright “Growing Up Song,” a super fun melodic rager resting on a powerful ear-worm chorus. Then there are the churning rhythms of “Speechless,” where the production from TWIABP&INLWTD’s Chris Teti shines through by letting the five-piece flex their heavy muscles. Or the powerful “Let Me,” where guest vocals from Pat Flynn of Have Heart/Fiddlehead fame help channel the anguish of divorce and negativity into a triumphant declaration of resilience. By the time arresting closer “You When You’re Gone” arrives, the album’s thematic arc resolves itself full circle: “Keep focus, I’ll see you around/ Don’t ever question who it is you’ve found.”