Weekly Roundup: October 14th
Featuring Scowl, Hidden Mothers, Press Club, and more.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
I was lucky enough to spend some time backstage with Jesse Barnett of Stick To Your Guns during their recent show at The Forum in Naarm/Melbourne and chat about the Cali powerhouse’s upcoming sixth full-length album, Keep Planting Flowers (out January 10th through SharpTone Records).
Jesse proves that he’s one of the most insightful and passionate frontmen in hardcore today by giving me the lowdown on the need for collective solidarity, using music to speak to revolutionary struggle, his work and community outreach with All Power Books, the inherent dangers of tribalism, and how to stay hopeful in the face of endless nihilism. Check out my chat with Jesse below:
Question: Have you subscribed to the TPD Patreon?
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Now, on with the words…
SIDE A:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Press Club – “Champagne & Nikes”
We’ve all had passing interactions with strangers that felt bizarre and borderline surreal. For Press Club, one such meeting animates “Champagne & Nikes,” the latest single from the Naarm/Melbourne indie punks. Starting as a humble voice memo from bassist Iain MacRae, the track quickly took shape with fizzy guitars and driving grooves.
Vocalist Natalie Foster recounts the moment she and MacRae bought Guinness for a recording session before wandering into a Lynchian scene of disbelief:
“If I tried to tell you the story of this person’s interaction with the person behind the counter, you’d think I was recounting something from a dream. It was so outlandish and erratic I could barely believe it was happening in front of me.”
Watch the video for “Champagne & Nikes” below:
Kruelty – Profane Usurpation
What’s better than Finnish death metal worship filtered through the impeccable taste of Tokyo’s dark underground? Death metal that also gleefully leans into the mosh-heavy school of ‘90s metallic hardcore, i.e. shit to beat ass to.
I last saw Japanese export Kruelty earlier this year when they supported the indomitable Gatecreeper, and there was ample ass-whooping on offer there. I suspect the group’s latest EP, Profane Usurpation (out on November 22nd through new label Closed Casket Activities), will deliver more and then some. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Apate – “Black Noise”
Meanjin/Brisbane heavy hitters Apate are mixing up their nu-metalcore playbook and jumping right into the Deftones deep end. The stratospheric hook in the group’s latest single, “Black Noise,” rests not in maximalist pit carnage—although, fear not, for it does get heavy in places—but instead in the delicate mix of melodic croons, subtle harmonies, and diffuse atmospherics. Loathe and Moodring fans would do well to seek this one out. Listen to “Black Noise” here.
Hidden Mothers – Erosion / Avulsion
Sheffield’s Hidden Mothers are a new band on my radar this week, and the latest single from the forthcoming debut album, Erosion / Avulsion (out November 29th via Church Road Records), is a total doozie.
“Violet Sun” starts with the stark heaviness of a jittering breakdown passage before breaking wide open into a plaintive mid-tempo guitar progression and gorgeous melodic vocals that simultaneously evoke Dustin Kensrue's sonorous tone and Wade MacNeil's gravel-throated weariness. “Progressive post-hardcore,” indeed. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Armor For Sleep – “What A Beautiful World”
Speaking of post-hardcore, seminal mid-2000s fixture Armor For Sleep are back with another new track, and this one is their best yet (there, I said it). According to frontman Ben Jorgensen, “What A Beautiful World” is a song about:
“Examining [the] toxic relationships we often find ourselves in and how hard it can be to free ourselves from situations that we know, ultimately, are unhealthy for us.”
The New Jersey outfit are also hinting at a new release in the coming months, so stay tuned for that. Listen to “What A Beautiful World” here.
SIDE B:
More tracks for you. Deep cuts for the real heads. Still cool.
Miracle & Fading Signal – Split
Although I’m certainly not the first person to notice the cyclic nature of hardcore and metal trends (or all contemporary music genres, for that matter), it’s nice to know that some things never go out of style.
Orlando’s Miracle (formerly Sentinel) proudly flies the flag for vegan edge metal of the Earth Crisis and Arkangel variety. Passionate and aggressive in equal measure, the band’s contribution to their recent split with Raleigh, NC’s Fading Signal makes me want to run through walls. Stream the split in full here (Spotify).
Scowl – “Special”
Rather than concern themselves with the ongoing debate about what is or isn’t hardcore, or who is or isn’t “selling out” (a conversation they frequently and, I would argue, unwittingly find themselves at the centre of), Bay Area phenomenon Scowl are instead focusing on the only thing that matters: writing exceptional songs.
Following 2023’s Will Yip-produced Psychic Dance Routine EP, the quintet have come through with “Special”: a straight-forward alt-rock rager that speaks to frontwoman and F.O.T.S. Kat Moss’s desire to truly “feel alive.” Watch the clip for “Special” below:
Primal Code – Opaque Fixation
When people on the internet talk about “meat and potatoes” death metal in hushed, reverent tones, this is what I imagine they mean.
Chicago’s Primal Code plays death metal like it’s made from earth-moving equipment: big, lumbering grooves, pulverizing double-kick, and 10-tonne riffage that ploughs and obliterates everything in its path. The band’s upcoming full-length Opaque Fixation (out November 15th through Relapse Records) sounds like a sonic bulldozer, and I am ready to get graded. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
FEATURE ALBUM:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
New Miserable Experience – Absent Lovers
My good friends in New Miserable Experience have finally released their debut full-length album, Absent Lovers, through Translation Loss Records.
Despite their respective metal pedigree, with collective time served as members of Rosetta, Model Prisoner, Revocation, and Rivers of Nihil, this record is a blissful slice of bedroom synth rock that leans heavily on the tenets of ‘80s darkwave and synth-pop.
Huge choruses, swimming guitar layers, and lush key arrangements permeate the ten tracks here, accentuating F.O.T.S. Dave Grossman’s melancholic lyrics, which yearn for human connection and meaning in a forsaken world. “Hope is a dangerous thing.”
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify