Weekly Roundup: June 6th
Weekly Roundup: June 6th
Featuring No Pressure, Counterparts, Viagra Boys, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Viagra Boys – “Punk Rock Loser”
Stockholm post-punkers Viagra Boys are already following up 2021’s well-received Welfare Jazz with another slab of sleazy dancefloor anthems. Cave World is out July 8th through Year0001, and the LP’s pre-release singles have been a fitting taste tester of glitz and grime. Their latest mid-tempo single “Punk Rock Loser” finds vocalist Sebastian Murphy opining laconically about being an elder alt over a woozy midtempo instrumental. Watch the video below:
awakebutstillinbed / For Your Health – Hymns for the Scorned
Split EPs are a great way to, um, split the difference between two disparate yet spiritually aligned acts and Hymns for the Scorned is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Featuring two tracks apiece from San Jose emo outfit awakebutstillinbed and Columbus screamo quartet For Your Health, the EP runs the gamut of the alternative spectrum: intense and emotional, melodic and anthemic, all swinging fists and gut punches. I’m hyped for it and you should be too. Stream the split’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Foreseen – “Oppression Fetish”
It’s been five long years since we’ve had a taste of a new Foreseen record and, let me tell you, folks: that’s five years too long. Last we heard from the Finnish thrashers was 2017’s Power Intoxication b/w Dying Spirit two-track single, and 2014’s Helsinki Savagery LP still remains one of the best thrash records of the 2010s. On their latest single, “Oppression Fetish,” taken from their upcoming full-length record, the quartet unfurl another four-minute opus of frantic and technical crossover goodness. Get around it. Listen to “Oppression Fetish” here.
No Pressure – S/T
Here’s a question for you: “What if we played Dude Ranch songs but hardcore?” While it’s hardly an original premise, No Pressure provide the answer like it’s baked into their DNA. Featuring The Story So Far frontman Parker Cannon alongside Light Years' Pat Kennedy and Regulate's Harry Corrigan, the trio’s self-titled debut LP is everything that comes to mind with authentic pop-punk: blissful power chords, punchy drums, saccharine melodies, and lyrics for that ephemeral endless summer. Stream the LP in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Thoughtcrimes – “Panopticon”
Long Island mathcore mindfuckers Thoughtcrimes are still teasing out the release of their forthcoming Mike Watts-produced album for later this year. Contrasted against the quicksilver melodies of their previous single “The Drowning Man,” the band's latest offering hits like a pugilistic battering ram, with churning rhythms, grinding guitars, and stuttering glitchy bridge. Here’s to hoping we get album news soon. Listen to “Panopticon” here.
Turnover – Wait Too Long b/w Mountains Made of Clouds
Virginia indie-pop outfit Turnover have been quiet over the last few years. And I mean, sure, there was that whole global pandemic thing and the complete shutdown of touring, but their last record was 2019’s Altogether and it seems like they might finally have something new in the works. The quartet have released two new singles “Wait Too Long” and “Mountains Made Of Clouds,” and according to frontman Austin Getz, the former is about “expectation from yourself and others,” while the latter is “an ode to that time and place.” Stream the two-track single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Counterparts – “Unwavering Vow”
Canadian metalcore stalwarts Counterparts have dropped a heavy new sample from their upcoming LP, A Eulogy For Those Still Here (out October 7th through Pure Noise Records), and it’s another bludgeoning blend of misery and melody. Produced/engineered by Will Putney (Knocked Loose, Every Time I Die, Vein.fm), the band’s seventh full-length album finds the quintet pushing the sonic envelope once again, further synthesising their Misery Signals meets Shai Hulud approach to hard-hitting, instrumentally complex pit-starter anthems. Watch the official video for lead single “Unwavering Vow” below:
I AM – Eternal Steel
On their upcoming LP, Dallas bruisers I AM are channelling the spirit of their fellow Texan brethren in Pantera and Power Trip. The eleven-track record, Eternal Sleep (out September 9th through MNRK Heavy), takes the quintet’s dark fusion of Big Four thrash and OSDM in exciting new directions, with tectonic Sepultura-esque grooves and hefty, mechanical brutality in the vein of Morbid Angel. Plus, just look at that cover? A gnarly Conan-ass looking babe holding a skull and a sexy Cerberus panther against a sublime mountain vista? Bruh. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles 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.
Thornhill – Heroine
I was never a fan of Thornhill. While many hailed the Melbourne quintet’s 2019 debut The Dark Pool as a progressive metalcore masterpiece, all I heard were some tired Northlane-isms and recycled tropes from Aussie pub-prog acts like Karnivool and Dead Letter Circus. Don’t get me wrong: the boys had clearly found their success, but it just wasn’t for me.
So, when the band began releasing singles for their long-anticipated sophomore follow-up, I was a little curious. Part of this job is being willing to change your mind and also acknowledge when you’re wrong (or perhaps, just a little too judgemental).
Imagine my surprise then when I didn’t immediately hate “Casanova”. Sure, the splicing of down-tuned riffage with a Matt Bellamy vocal range, along with a music video that could best be described as emo “Sexy Back,” threw me off a little—but I didn’t hate it. The power of “Arkangel” sucked me right in with its Dark City noir aesthetic and a huge, stratospheric chorus. The atmospherics of “Hollywood” continued to build the hype and then the band’s naked “Raw” aggression solidified it. That’s it. I guess I’m a Thornhill fan now.
So listen to Heroine. It’s dark and heavy and sexy in all the right places.