MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
DMX – “Hood Blues” feat. Griselda
Hip hop has a long legacy of killer posse cuts. Following the tragic passing of legendary New York emcee DMX in April, it’s my sincere hope that “Hood Blues” will quickly rise to the top of that esteemed list. Hearing X’s savage bark hold it down against loaded bars from Griselda all-stars Westside Gunn, Conway The Machine, and Benny The Butcher is a match made in old-school rap game heaven. Watch the video below:
Hermit’s Weedsom – As Above So Below
Taking its name from celestial mysticism and ancient Hermetic texts, As Above So Below is the perfect backdrop to pondering life’s big questions. This latest full-length project from French duo Hermit’s Weedsom is a smooth blend of heavy instrumental psych-rock and astral doom. So, rip a spliff, close your eyes, and get your brain ready for lift-off. Stream the LP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Dopamine – “Strange Situation”
I’m not immediately familiar with Brisbane newcomers Dopamine but if I had to guess, I’d say there are probably some Oasis, Blur, and Interpol tees floating around the quartet’s collective wardrobes. Maybe throw in a Silent Alarm anniversary tour hoodie while you’re at it. This is all just a very “writerly” way of saying that their latest single “Strange Situation” pays homage to the well-trodden intersection of indie rock and ‘00s Britpop. Listen to the track here.
Stormruler – Under The Burning Eclipse
God damn. Rising stars Stormruler have an absolutely mammoth debut record on their hands here. On Under The Burning Eclipse, the St. Louis-based two-man project throw down a modernized twist on traditional black metal, infusing their desolate soundscapes with memorable transitions, devastating percussive eruptions, and tortured screams that lend narrative weight and agony to an hour-length fantasy fable of war, death, victory and defeat. Stream the album here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Burn In Hell – “Bleach”
Hardcore isn’t exactly known for its subtlety and on the corrosive “Bleach,” Sydney bruisers Burn In Hell leave little ambiguity in their message to white supremacists and avowed nationalists: “Leave the white to drown/ As the waters rise/ Drown in our justice/ You racist fuck.” Yep, clear as a bullet. Sonically, the track feels like the caustic frisson of Unsilent Death-era Nails and Primitive Man, and you might just need an acid bath after the experience. Listen here.
Dead Heat – World At War
Coming in hot with crazy crossover mayhem, it’s Oxnard’s Dead Heat and their blistering sophomore album, World At War. As their Bandcamp profile attests, this record is a total ass-beater, loaded with landmine beatdowns, blazing solos, and a surgical strike approach to ‘80s thrash riffage. Complete with production from Taylor Young (Drain, Regional Justice Center, God’s Hate), this is a must-listen for thrashers of all stripes. Stream the LP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Iceage – “High & Hurt”
Seek Shelter, the fifth LP from Iceage, is already out and it totally rules. (Insert shameless review plug here.) “High & Hurt,” the latest single from the Danish quintet, is a curious choice. Over Johan Surrballe Wieth’s wailing guitar, frontman Elias Rønnenfelt twists an allusion to the rush of religiosity with pain and degeneracy, before the band speeds through the chorus of the popular Christian hymn, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” While it may sound like a cynical move, don’t let the angel wings fool you—it’s still a total jam. Watch the video below:
Korine – Sunshine
When I last featured Korine in the roundup back in March, I noted how their innovative approach to new wave pop was so tactile and refreshing. On their latest release, the standalone “Sunshine” single, the Philly duo offer up a sad summer banger that feels like the spiritual successor to Tears for Fears at their most charismatic and wistful. Stream the track here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2021 VIBING playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Love Is Red – Darkness Is Waiting
Before YouTube or Spotify, or any kind of algorithmic influence, the best way to find new bands in alternative music was through record label CD samplers. You’d find them passed out at merch tables or stacked in piles at record stores (hey, remember those?), and samplers like Trustkill Strikes Again (2003) and Ferret’s Progression Through Aggression (2004) helped introduce me to many of my formative and long-lasting influences.
This is how I originally came across Nashville’s Love Is Red. I heard the single for “Close My Eyes” on a sampler somewhere and eventually got my hands on a copy of their debut album, The Hardest Fight (2004), released through Jamey Jasta’s Stillborn Records. It was exactly the type of hardcore I needed at that moment: melodic, sincere, anthemic, impassioned, and heavy as shit.
On their new five-track EP, Darkness Is Waiting, the band are in fine form more than fifteen years on: older, wiser, and stronger for the fight ahead. Tracks like “Shallow Graves” and “Keep Moving” are fierce and swift, carrying the listener away with each cavernous crew vocal, cracking snare, and aching lead riff.
Stream here: Bandcamp | YouTube
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Links to some of my other published work across the Web. Take a look, share if you feel like it, and help a brother out.