Weekly Roundup: May 17th
Featuring Don Broco, Iron Chic, Kississippi, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Don Broco – “Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan”
Oh boy. It’s finally here, folks. The long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Technology is titled Amazing Things (out September 17th through Sharptone Records), and it comes with a lead single that is suitably batshit insane. The Bedford quartet is inexplicably clad in Star Trek: TNG uniforms and stuck on a derelict spaceship with a miniature dinosaur, desperately trying to clone David Beckham before they resort to shooting his giant discombobulated head with lasers. Yep, classic Don Broco. Watch the video for “Manchester Super Reds No. 1 Fan” below:
Sleep – Iommic Life
A new project from the mighty doomfathers in Sleep is always a cause for hails and celebration. A collection of their post-reunion singles, Iommic Life (out now via Third Man Records) brings together two tracks from the California stoner metal icons—“The Clarity” (2014) and “Leagues Beneath” (2018)—making for a combined twenty-six minute trip through swirling riff passages, hazy atmospherics, and earth-quaking bottom end. Stream the double 12” release here (Spotify/YouTube).
Iron Chic – “Catgut”
It’s been a while between beers for legendary Long Island punk rockers Iron Chic. “Catgut” feels like the personification of “that one time I got super wasted and did messy sing-a-longs at Fest and/or Punk Rock Bowling.” It’s a fitting return for a band that’s been lying dormant since long before the global shutdown and in their own words: “We took the entire pandemic to do one song. Here it is.” Listen to “Catgut” here.
Tooth and Claw – Dream Ascension
Joining the influx of stacked supergroup line-ups, Tooth and Claw have entered the ring with their fists swinging. The metallic hardcore outfit features Scott Crouse (Earth Crisis, Sect), Daniel Austin (Die Young), James Chang (Undying, Catharsis, Sect), and Cameron Joplin (Magnitude), and their debut full-length, Dream of Ascension (out May 21 via Good Fight Music) promises plenty of groove and unchecked anger. Stream the album’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Slowly Slowly – “Blueprint”
I don’t know what’s in the water over at the Slowly Slowly camp, but god damn, these Melbourne rockers are coming in hot with the B.A.N.G.E.R.S. right now. “Blueprint” is a righteous jam with deliciously self-effacing lyrics (“Back to basics/ Back on my bullshit/ I’ll get the hang of it, you be my blueprint”) and a super sticky chorus. It’s fun, it’s energetic, and it’s a total bop. More of this, please. Listen to the single here.
The Lion’s Daughter – Skin Show
Music is at its best when completely disparate genre ideas are smashed together like exotic ingredients in a trendy fusion restaurant. On their Skin Show LP, Missouri trio The Lion’s Daughter offer up a full course of twisted black metal, crushing sludge, and eerie dungeon synth. It’s definitely an acquired taste, but it goes down smooth if your palette is refined enough. After all, that’s how you make real flavour, people. (Are these culinary metaphors doing it for you? No? Just me?) Stream the full album here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Kississippi – “Big Dipper”
After 2020’s majestic Punisher solidified Phoebe Bridgers’ place as “one of the world’s foremost millennial sirens,” I’ve been waiting for the next feel-good indie-pop masterpiece. And by all accounts, Mood Ring (out August 6th through Triple Crown Records), the sophomore LP from Kississippi—the project of Philly-based singer-songwriter Zoe Allaire Reynolds—might just be the one. Lead single “Big Dipper” is an arresting and heartfelt ballad, pairing shimmering instrumentals with lyrical reflections on disconnection, stargazing, and constellations of loss. Watch the gorgeous video below:
Onslow – S/T EP
Back on that neo-grunge grind once more, WA’s Onslow have signed to Greyscale Records and will be dropping their self-titled EP on July 2nd. The five-track release is set to feature rocking lead single “Let Me Rust” along with their moody new jam “Gauze.” I’m keen to see where the group can go with their decidedly modern spin on 90s/00s alternative sounds, so definitely watch this space. Stream the pre-release singles 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.
SeeYouSpaceCowboy / If I Die First – A Sure Disaster
Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen described the ongoing screamo revival as “2020’s most vital and prescient form of punk rock... alternately paralyzed and powered by nervous energy, looking for any outlet for release.”
On their five-track split EP, A Sure Disaster, Los Angeles scene collaborators SeeYouSpaceCowboy and If I Die First take this neo-punk ethos and smear it with blood, mascara, and saccharine gloss. One group is named after a popular anime, the other sports an emo-rap success story as frontman. Both acts wield a form of weaponized mid-00s nostalgia—think MySpace, flip-phones, white studded belts, not dying in a global pandemic—to power their dextrous and volatile compositions, approaching this cultural nexus from different angles.
As self-avowed “sasscore” advocates, SeeYouSpaceCowboy pummel and antagonize with discordant guitars, pneumatic breakdowns, and screeching vocals. Meanwhile, If I Die First take the honey-and-vinegar approach to post-hardcore emo balladry, layering their ‘sad boi’ confessionals with verbose, non-ironic song titles and everythingsquishedtogether constructions.
And yet, what makes this split work is just how earnest it all lands. Sure, on lead single “bloodstainedeyes,” the school uniform aesthetic and panda-eye make up might feel a little anachronistic and on the nose, even by scene standards, but both groups totally own their identity and wear it as a badge of pride. A Sure Disaster isn’t just reviving screamo—it’s a full-blown re-sass-citation.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
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.
With cinema screenings slowly getting back to normal, I was able to attend the premiere of Taylor Sheridan’s latest film, Those Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie. It’s a fairly by-the-numbers action thriller with a decisive neo-Western flair (more on those for paid subscribers to the newsletter; *cough cough*), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Read my full review over at Film Bunker here.
In other news, I’ve finally relented and begrudgingly entered the Twitter-sphere. Follow me there @PitchDiscontent, where I’ll be sharing my writing work, alongside liking memes, ironic shit posts, and obscure leftist content.