Weekly Roundup: March 8th
Featuring Gulch, Take Over and Destroy, Squid, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Squid – “Narrator” feat. Martha Skye Murphy
I hadn’t heard of UK quintet Squid before last week when a copy of Bright Green Fields, their upcoming LP (out May 7 on Warp Records), suddenly dropped into my inbox. With my interest piqued, I sampled their “frantic and frenetic burst of wiry post-punk and jagged kraut-jazz,” and, suffice to say, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Also, the below clip for “Narrator,” the album’s lead single is one hell of a trip, so strap in and do it all in one fevered sitting:
Hooveriii – Water For The Frogs
If like me, you enjoy watching films like Dazed & Confused and Almost Famous, but also have mixed feelings about sideburns and flare jeans, then L.A. psychonauts Hooveriii (“Hoover Three”) are just the tab for your tongue. On Water For The Frogs (out April 9 through The Reverberation Appreciation Society), the riffs are fuzzy, the vocals are smooth and high, and the drumming is punchy enough to make you a space cadet. Stream the pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Petey and Miya Folick – “Haircut”
“Haircut” is a beautiful indie-pop collaboration from Petey and Miya Folick that hits the sweet spot somewhere between Tegan & Sara and Modest Mouse. It’s also super relatable in that self-deprecating millennial kind-of-way, with lyrics about playing The Sims too much and getting shitty haircuts. (It’s a mood.) Also, apparently, Petey is Tik Tok famous too? So, cool. Listen to “Haircut” here.
Obstruktion – Monarchs of Decay
Gothenburg, Sweden might be best known as the home of European melo-death, yet bruisers Obstruktion deal exclusively in sonic heaviness of the metallic hardcore variety. If you’re into hard riffs, dive bombs, and the fist-pumping sounds of Hatebreed and All Out War, then Monarchs of Decay is sure to get you all fired up. Stream the full album here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Korine – “The Last”
The new wave pop revival is nothing new, but every now and again, a group comes along that sounds like the real deal. That’s Philly duo Korine—innovation over imitation. “The Last” sounds like a forgotten New Order cover performed by Disintegration-era The Cure; a priceless, long-lost vinyl B-side, dredged up from the depths of some dusty record store bargain bin. Listen to “The Last” here.
Appalooza – The Holy of Holies
Speaking of imitation, when I saw the cover of The Holy of Holies, I was like “Woah, there’s a John Dyer Baizley artwork I haven’t seen before.” Well, turns out it’s not his, but you could have fooled me. Sonically, however, Appalooza do fit the Baroness mode pretty well: southern riffs, howling vocals, serpentine grooves, thick and muddy production. Throw in some big-time Torche and Mastodon vibes, and you got yourself a rollicking good time. Stream the record here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Pacifist – “Resolve”
Finding acts like India’s Pacifist is one of the coolest things about doing this newsletter. It’s crazy to listen to a kickass track like “Resolve”—imagine Thursday, Rival Schools, and Ignite in a blender with a shot of adrenaline—and know that this impassioned, contemporary take on post-hardcore came from a completely different cultural environment to the West. It speaks to how hardcore and punk cross all borders—real, imagined, or otherwise—and I love every single second of it. Watch the track’s video below:
Take Over and Destroy – Film Crux
One look at Take Over and Destroy’s aesthetic and it’s obvious that they love cinema. Their bio even makes this connection explicit: “An American rock & roll band from the 70s trapped inside of a Scandinavian metal band from the early 90s, scoring a John Carpenter film.” And one listen to their snarling, atmospheric post-metal sound pulls this cohesive vision together. Stream the Film Crux single from their upcoming LP here (Spotify/Youtube).
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Sunami / Gulch – Split 7-Inch
Bay Area brawlers Sunami and Gulch are two of the hottest properties in American hardcore right now. While both groups may share members, sonically, those similarities fall apart straight away.
Sunami execute hardcore with maximum levels of ignorance; real knuckle-dragging, swinging-a-cinder-block-in-the-pit type shit, as evidenced by insane footage from their one and only show. “Step Up” sounds like an avalanche barreling through a Marshall stack, while “Die Slow” has this fierce stomping groove and tectonic double-kick assault that leaves me craving more.
Gulch, on the other hand, hit your ears like a full-blown panic attack put to tape. This is acerbic, cerebral hardcore shot through with tortured bursts of grind, power-violence, and any other form of abrasive music known to man. “Bolt Swallower” sounds just like it reads: a nihilistic death-punk anthem for an entire generation. And just when you can’t take any more aural chaos, “Accelerator” speeds right in there, ready to flush your veins clean and stop your heart. DNR.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
Listen to all these tracks on the TPD March playlist, updated each week.
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.
I reviewed Conduit, the new LP from mid-00s alt-rockers The Spill Canvas, for New Noise. It’s a pretty saucy, dare I say, horny record, with plenty of emo bang anthems in the making. If that sounds like your thing (or you’re just curious), check out my review here.