Weekly Roundup: July 19th
Featuring Boys Night Out, Underoath, Spanish Love Songs, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Foxing – “Draw Down The Moon”
After teasing out singles for the last few months, St. Louis trio Foxing have finally announced their latest album, Draw Down The Moon, out August 6th through Hopeless Records and the band’s own Grand Paradise label. Blurring the line between alternative, indie, and pop, the LP’s title track recalls Manners-era Passion Pit, with a sticky chorus, glorious layers of synth, and lyrics that imagine love as ritualistic delight. Check out the dynamic music video below:
Mantlet – Concrete Crucifixion
Coventry metallic hardcore outfit Mantlet aren’t here to fuck around. On their new three-track EP, Concrete Crucifixion, the quintet scream and rage about street justice and the victims of violence in the urban wastes of English suburbia. They also bring a distinctly late-‘90s feel to their bludgeoning sound, something that fans of Arkangel and All Out War should appreciate. Stream the full EP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Underoath – “Damn Excuses”
Floridian masters of post-hardcore Underoath are back with a surprise new single, “Damn Excuses.” It’s a tasty offering that effectively runs the gamut of their entire back catalogue in a blistering two and a half minutes: crushing dissonance, eccentric melodies, throat-shredding screams, and dreamy atmospherics. Here’s hoping there’s also a new album on the way. Listen to “Damn Excuses” here.
Foreign Pain – Death of Divinity
Drawing from ‘00s mainstays like Eighteen Visions, Turmoil, and Every Time I Die, L.A. outfit Foreign Pain channel metalcore fury on their upcoming album, Death of Divinity (out September 3rd through Good Fight Music). Featuring ex-members of The Ghost Inside, the band are certainly no strangers to the arena of hardcore and metal, and lead single “…On Failure” makes that clear with stunning clarity. Stream the pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Spanish Love Songs – “Phantom Limb”
2020’s Brave Faces Everyone was one of my favourite records of last year, with Californian quintet Spanish Love Songs crafting a breathtaking highwater mark for affecting, utterly sincere, heart-on-sleeve punk rock in the vein of The Menzingers and The Hotelier. Recorded with that album’s slate of tracks, “Phantom Limb” may just be a lonely B-side but it still lands with the same amount of power and emotional resonance. Listen to “Phantom Limb” here.
Boys Night Out – Nevermind 2
Man, I really miss Boys Night Out. The band were one of the first truly great screamo bands of the mid-’00s to crossover into marginal alt-rock success, and their 2007 self-titled album is still one of my all-time favourite records. Nevermind 2 might not have any new songs but it does chronicle the band’s burgeoning formation, collecting together an eclectic mix of early tracks and demos. Stream the compilation here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Don Broco – “Gumshield”
No one sounds quite as exciting or fresh as UK rockers Don Broco do right now. With their fourth LP, Amazing Things, on track for release later this year (out September 17th through SharpTone Records), the Bedford quartet have dropped the album’s opener as their latest single. “Gumshield” is a total banger, pairing a stratospheric chorus hook from drummer Matt Donnelly with high-energy verses from frontman Rob Damiani. Watch the surreal, KO title fight video below:
Lucid Express – S/T
On their self-titled LP, Hong Kong quintet Lucid Express blend the realms of shoegaze and dream pop into a rich kaleidoscopic experience. The listener drifts past slow-moving waves of riffage and swirling melodies, haunted by forgotten visions of skyscrapers, mountains, and packed side streets. Lucid Express is at once dense and luminescent, soaked in sound and colour, making it the perfect album for drowning out the world. Stream the LP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).