Weekly Roundup: July 22nd
Featuring Oso Oso, Chat Pile, Balance and Composure, and more.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Last week, frontwoman Amariah Cook joined the TPD pod to recap Future Static’s whirlwind year following the release of their phenomenal debut full-length, Liminality. We had a fun chat about her childhood in Barcelona, the perils of performance anxiety, joining an established group, the importance of visual storytelling, and what’s next for the Naarm/Melbourne progressive metalcore juggernaut. Check it out below:
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Now, on with the words…
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Fever 333 – “Higher Power”
If you’ve ever seen Jason Aalon Butler on stage, then you know that he’s an absolute livewire. With the latest single for his current project, Fever 333, that electric performance powers a sense of righteous fury and indignation. As Butler attests:
“There are no diamonds to be produced without pressure. No lessons to learn without trials. ‘Higher Power’ revolves around these ideas and reveres the beauty in the adversity-induced magic performed by marginalized communities. To exist in a world that challenges your very existence every day to some degree is one of the most magical acts I have ever witnessed. Here is my 2:43 soundtrack offering to that act.”
Watch the video for “Higher Power” below:
Oso Oso – Life Till Bones
For whatever reason, Jade Lilitri & Co. appear to be playing it cool about the release of this new Oso Oso record. Lack of formal press details notwithstanding, I’m seeing a lot of reporting that it’s titled Life Till Bones and that it’ll be out on August 9th. So, you can rest assured that it’s gonna be another stack of contemporary emo anthems. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Spotify).
Alt. – “Conversations That Hurt”
As a follow-up to their 2023 debut LP, Abeyance, Kaurna/Adelaide five-piece alt. have come through with a new heater, and this one has a shiny co-writer credit from Trophy Eyes frontman John Floreani. Produced, mixed, and mastered by longtime collaborator Callan Orr, “Conversations That Hurt” is out now via Resist Records and SharpTone Records, and it’s a post-hardcore rager that accentuates the band’s already well-honed melodic sensibilities. Listen to “Conversations That Hurt” here.
Semantics – I Feel It All At Once
Meanjin/Brisbane indie-punk quartet Semantics are roaring back into the picture for a big 2024, announcing the delivery of their much-anticipated sophomore album, I Feel It All At Once, out on September 27th via SideOneDummy Records. On lead single “Love Language,” lead vocalist/guitarist Callum Robinson states:
“Lyrically, it’s tapping into the complexities of communication styles and love languages, which can create barriers in meaningful relationships. The protagonist is a little narcissistic; I'm trying to look inward on when I can be difficult to read/relate to due to my ADHD/anxiety-fuelled reactive personality.”
Robinson also produced “Rose,” from fellow Brissy rockers VERUM, which I featured in the newsletter a few weeks ago. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Spotify).
Armor For Sleep – “In Another Dream”
I firmly believe that What To Do When You Are Dead, the beloved concept album from Armor For Sleep, is one of the most underrated records of the 2000s second-wave emo/post-hardcore boom. Well, the New Jersey staple are back again with new material, and this latest single is their first since the release of their 2022 comeback LP, The Rain Museum. It’s a catchy number exploring “attempts to find peace with the fact that sometimes our most cherished relationships become irreparably damaged.” Listen to “In Another Dream” here.
Drug Church – PRUDE
Punk rock agitators Drug Church are finally dropping a new record and follow-up to 2022’s stellar Hygiene LP. Frontman
is one of my all-time favourite lyricists, and I expect nothing less than catchy tunes and incisive cultural observations from the band. PRUDE is due on October 4th through Pure Noise Records, and if you’re a fan of lean alt-rock riffs, sardonic wit, and songs that whip, then this is for you. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).Balance and Composure – “Believe The Hype”
Speaking of songs that whip: woah, boy. This one is an absolute doosie. I’ve been a shameless fan of Balance and Composure for fifteen years, and my copy of 2013’s exceptional The Things We Think We’re Missing LP is one of my most cherished possessions. Suffice it to say, I’m incredibly excited for their new album, With You In Spirit, due out on October 4th through Memory Music, and their latest single has quickly entered my coveted list of all-time great Balance tracks off the back of a truly monstrous hook. Watch the clip for “Believe The Hype” below:
Chat Pile – Cool World
Oklahoma noise rockers Chat Pile already have a reputation as one of the most menacing and abrasive bands on the planet, thanks to their 2022 breakout album, God's Country. The quartet’s full-length follow-up, Cool World, set for release on October 11th via The Flenser, is likely to cement that position even further. Never one to mince words (unless on the mic or in the studio), vocalist Raygun Busch puts it like this:
“Cool World covers similar themes to our last album, except now exploded from micro to macro scale, with thoughts specifically about disasters abroad, at home, and how they affect one another. If I had to describe the album in one sentence. It’s hard not to borrow from Voltaire, so I won’t resist – Cool World is about the price at which we eat sugar in America.”
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.
Eliza & The Delusionals – Make It Feel Like the Garden
Love is a curious thing. Once it’s in bloom, it opens you up to the full emotional spectrum of desire. And, at the risk of extending the botanical metaphor here, it requires nurturing and a tender hand to grow. Otherwise, it will shrivel up and wither away.
This is something Aussie indie-rock trio Eliza & The Delusionals appear to know all too well. On Make It Feel Like the Garden, the band’s luscious second studio album, love is presented as both an exhilarating prospect (“I Wanna Love You”) and a delirious burden (“Lately” featuring Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups).
According to guitarist Kurt Skuse, the album’s titular garden is both feeling and location—a real tangible place to be desired and lived in, where the many possibilities of love can dare to take root. “I really wanted to create an actual liveable garden that could represent each track from the album and a place that you could almost ‘check into’ when you listen to the record,” says Skuse. “The Garden represents where we spent most of our time writing and creating for this album, so we wanted to bring it to life through the visuals.”