Weekly Roundup: July 18th
Featuring Holy Fawn, Birds In Row, No Devotion, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
No Devotion – “Starlings”
It’s not been a decade since supergroup No Devotion dropped their debut LP, 2015’s Permanence. Combining the vocal talents of Thursday frontman Geoff Rickly with former members of Lost Prophets, the band churned out spacey and hypnotic variations on familiar post-hardcore soundscapes. By all accounts, their recently announced sophomore effort, No Oblivion (out September 16th via Velocity Records), produced by bassist Stuart Richardson and mixed by Dave Fridmann (Baroness, Interpol, Mogwai), is set to take that leap even further. Watch the video for the album’s entrancing lead single, “Starlings,” below:
Birds In Row – Gris Klein
Many years ago, I had the pleasure of watching French hardcore punk outfit Birds In Row play in a dingy basement venue to a rapt crowd of 10-15 people, sadly made up of other bands and crew. Ever the consummate professionals, the trio went on to give one of the best live performances I’ve ever witnessed. To this day, it’s both tragedy and farce for such a talented group to be so underseen and unappreciated. So, please do me a favour, pre-order the band’s new album, Gris Klein (out October 14th through Red Creek), and give them some well-earned love. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Violent Soho – “Kamikaze”
It’s a sad day when Brisbane veterans Violent Soho decide to put their stadium-worthy, neo-grunge efforts on the backburner. While they’ve regrettably used those two dreaded words (“indefinite hiatus”), the band are clear that the door remains open for an as-yet undetermined future: “This isn’t the end of the band,” said the Mansfield quartet, “but we are looking forward to giving ourselves some space.” Fair enough, gents. At least they’ve left us with one last amps-to-11 rocker to kick off into the void. Listen to “Kamikaze” here.
Fixtures – Live at Robert Lang Studios
After dropping their debut full-length, 2021’s Life In Retreat, in the thick of the pandemic, Seattle post-hardcore outfit Fixtures have followed up that effort with something more suited to their serpentine live show. The trio have released a four-track live EP recorded at the famed Robert Lang Studios, home to recordings from acts like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, The Blood Brothers, and more. Fans of mathy, angular sounds in the vein of Fugazi and These Arms Are Snakes should seek this one out ASAP. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp).
Holy Fawn – “Dimensional Bleed”
I’m a sucker for a good concept record, and anything vaguely sci-fi will immediately tick my boxes. On their forthcoming album, Dimensional Bleed (out September 9th through Wax Bodega), Phoenix-based quartet Holy Fawn delivers in both respects. According to guitarist Evan Phelps, “Dimensional Bleed vaguely refers to a concept of multiple dimensions and timelines that could exist simultaneously. A lot of different media has alluded to this ideology, and I find the possibility of multiple dimensions intersecting and bleeding into others to be fascinating.” You and me both, mate. Listen to the album’s title track here.
Gleemer – Here At All
The last time I heard from Gleemer was through their 2020 album Down Through. That nine-track LP had all the elements one might have expected from contemporary shoegaze—jangly leads, driving riffs, gentle rhythms, lofty crescendos—yet it still lacked something essential. On Here At All, the Colorado outfit’s latest release, they may just have found that missing link. The five-track EP bristles with energy and verve, casting the trio’s blend of indie and slowcore with the grit and immediacy of 90s alt-rock. It’s great stuff. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Orthodox – “Cave In”
Orthodox are purveyors of sonic chaos. Much like their heavyweight peers in Knocked Loose and Vein.fm, the Nashville quartet (not to be confused with the Spanish avant-garde doom/drone act) wield a form of metallic hardcore that pulls liberally from the 90s & 00s. On their Century Media debut, Learning to Dissolve (out August 19th), Slipknot riffs mix with devastating beatdowns, while Jonathan Davis vocal freakouts slide right up against Randy Leboeuf’s (Gideon, Kublai Khan, The Acacia Strain) hair-raising production. Watch the video for “Cave In” below:
Colourblind – Semaphore
Here’s a prediction: Adelaide newcomers Colourblind have big things ahead of them. What makes me so sure? Well, have you listened to the band’s recent seven-track Semaphore EP? I have, and it’s brilliant. The quartet manage to pull off that rare feat in alternative music, harnessing and synthesising their disparate musical influences (Trophy Eyes, Basement, Turnover) into something earnest, compelling, and thrillingly idiosyncratic. Stream the EP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Beabadoobee – Beatopia
Beatrice Laus, known better as indie darling Beabadoobee, is 22 years old, and she sounds like it. Now, hold on a minute. Despite how that sounds, that’s emphatically not shade. After all, being hailed as “the voice of Generation Z” following your viral rise to fame, a still-wet record deal, and playing in front of your idols—all while still in your teens—is bound to give anyone a complex.
Reading a typical Beabadoobee profile is like playing bingo with 90s alternative references: Courtney Love, Pixies, Veruca Salt, Sonic Youth, Juliana Hatfield, Bikini Kill, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., The Breeders, etc. Thankfully, Laus’s latest effort, her fourteen-track sophomore album Beatopia (pronounced “bay-a-toe-pee-uh”), doesn’t sound anything like these groups. It sounds resoundingly like something Beabadoobee and her Gen Z cohorts would make: messy, passionate, and achingly sincere.
Singles like “Talk” and “Sunny Day” may swoon and swell with big riffs and forlorn lyricism, but the quieter moments on the album truly shine through. “Pictures of Us” plays out like a dream with layered vocal harmonies drifting in and out like a sea of clouds. Meanwhile, “Ripples” and wistful record closer “You’re Here That’s the Thing” bring Laus to the fore, allowing the pick and slide of her acoustic guitar to gently accent her heartbreak.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify