MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Alpha Wolf – “Sucks 2 Suck” (feat. Ice-T)
Aussie titans Alpha Wolf have announced their long-awaited third LP, Half Living Things, which drops on April 5th via Greyscale Records and SharpTone Records. The group’s latest single, “Sucks 2 Suck,” is a smashing fusion of bouncy hip-hop and savage metalcore featuring none other than the legendary Ice-T (!!!) of Body Count and Law & Order: SVU fame. (Insane get; psycho shit.) It’s a venomous onslaught designed to hit back against one’s haters, as vocalist Lochie Keogh states:
“It’s about biting back at anyone saying you didn’t work hard for the shit you have. If you had the ethic and tenacity, you'd have it too, but you suck, so you don’t.”
Watch the video for “Sucks 2 Suck” below:
M.U.T.T. – Dirty Deeds
Bay Area power-pop unit M.U.T.T. (who feature members of Culture Abuse) have been blazing a trail through the American underground for years now and are set to continue with the release of their upcoming EP, Dirty Deeds, out on February 23rd through Quiet Panic. The EP was recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley at Atomic Garden East in Oakland (Deafheaven, Loma Prieta, Jeff Rosenstock) and follows up 2022’s Bad to the Bone, which was billed as a more “straightforward rock and roll” album. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Northlane – “Miasma” (feat. Winston McCall)
Circling back to Aussie heavy-hitters, Northlane have dropped another new single. “Miasma” features Winston McCall from Parkway Drive and will be a part of the band’s new EP, Mirror’s Edge, out April 12th through an independent release. Coming just over a year after the release of their #1 award-winning album, Obsidian, Mirror’s Edge was recorded with their old friend and revered heavy producer, Will Putney, mid-way through 2023, and the material is described by songwriter/guitarist Jon Deiley as “the greatest hits of Northlane sounds.” Listen to “Miasma” here.
Militarie Gun – Life Under The Sun
Alt-punk outfit Militarie Gun, the project of Regional Justice Center’s Ian Shelton, have followed their 2023 full-length debut, Life Under The Gun, with a surprise EP drop of reimagined tracks, cheekily titled Life Under The Sun. The EP takes the alt-rock-meets-hardcore blueprint of their debut and chills it out with more lush ambience, melodic warmth and soft textures, alongside a number of special guest features with members of Bully and Mannequin Pussy. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Bilmuri – “BETTER HELL”
Now here’s a fun one for you. “BETTER HELL” is the latest single from Bilmuri: the "Dethcore/ambient/post-jazz/hard rock project" founded by former Attack Attack! member Johnny Franck. (Don’t think about that too hard; move along.) Franck released his GOBLIN HOURS album back in 2022 and has dropped a few singles since then, but this one is an absolute heater, just a stone-cold, hood-certified “twanger banger.” Listen to “BETTER HELL” here.
Nightfeeder – Disgustör
I’ve been waiting for this release to hit streaming so I could feature it in the newsletter. It’s the latest EP from Seattle punks Nightfeeder, titled Disgustör, and it’s out now. Not too much to say about this one other than three tracks of bloodthirsty gothic-tinged punk spiked with rabid d-beat and crusty attitude. Think ripped leather jackets, raised middle fingers, big fuck-off mohawks, and the villains from The Lost Boys. This is music to get glassed to. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
SPACED – “Landslide”
Buffalo hardcore upstarts SPACED have announced their new album set for release on March 22nd through Revelation Records. Titled This Is All We Ever Get, the record finds the group blending explosive, pit-friendly hardcore with surreal, hallucinogenic tendencies. Lead single “Landslide” is a fun and bouncy cut with a catchy crew vocal and a video where vocalist Lexi Reyngoudt leads a “moshercise” class and puts fans to the test. It’s as fun as it sounds. Watch the clip for “Landslide” below:
Cower – Celestial Devastation
A new band on my radar this week is a UK supergroup featuring members of Petbrick, USA Nails, Yards, The Eurosuite and the massively underrated The Ghost of a Thousand. (Seriously, listen to them right now.) They're called Cower, and they have a new record, titled Celestial Devastation, coming out on Feb 2nd through Human Worth. The trio specialise in making “gothic noise”; think Type O Negative and Depeche Mode mixed with harsh industrial soundscapes and glassy post-punk textures in the vein of Killing Joke. Plus, the album artwork is killer, and that’s a big draw for me. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2024-7 HITS playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes – Dark Rainbow
I’ve been listening to UK rockers Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes for close to a decade (and to Carter’s varied musical output for almost another decade on top), and he’s never been an artist to shy away from the naked eye of vulnerability.
“Self Love,” the final single from the band’s fifth LP, Dark Rainbow (out now through International Death Cult), finds Carter embracing his self-worth, landing on a brutally honest chorus hook that hits all too close to home:
“If I ever fall in love again/
Let me love myself/
'Cause I got pain in my heart like no one else.
If I ever fall in love again/
Let me love myself/
Before I give it all away to someone else.”
To my ear, Dark Rainbow feels like a natural extension of the material from 2019’s exceptional End of Suffering, with a greater emphasis placed on the addition of pianos, synths, and strings to compliment Carter’s emotionally charged, horny-on-main, indie-sleaze lyricism. This one’s for the lovers (you know who you are).
Stream here: Spotify | YouTube
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Peter Rono, frontman for emo mathcore purveyors Kaonashi, jumped on The Pitch pod last week to run through a Hit List of sonic and thematic inspirations for the band’s new EP, The 3 Faces Of Beauty: A Violent Misinterpretation of Morgan Montgomery. We talk about bringing real-world issues to life through fiction, the cautionary narrative of Lemon House High, dummy hard breakdowns, and Peter’s undying love for the riotous pit calls of one Mr Vincent Bennett. Check it out below: