Weekly Roundup: October 4th
Featuring Fit For An Autopsy, SPICE, Boy Scouts, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Johnny Booth – “Deepfake”
After dropping the rowdy “Crowd Control” single back in March, Long Island metalcore outfit Johnny Booth are back with another head-spinning banger. Seriously, how is this band not signed and taking over the world right now? The sliding scale destruction in the bridge section of “Deepfake” is powerful enough to level a city block, and the band clearly has the creative chops to body most of the metalcore vanguard. I really don’t get it—they’re insane. Watch the band’s dizzying clip below:
SPICE – A Better Treatment b/w Everyone Gets In
Last year, I was completely floored by SPICE, the debut LP from Ceremony frontman Ross Farrar’s newest shoegaze/alternative project. Well, now they’re back and armed with a new single: A Better Treatment b/w Everyone Gets In, out November 19th through Dais Records. “A Better Treatment” is woozy and captivating—picture Nothing on ketamine and you’d be close. SPICE offer up swirling dynamics and plodding rhythms, with Farrar’s lofty vocal melodies drifting across the verses and coalescing into a powerful chorus. Stream the A-Side single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Comeback Kid – “No Easy Way Out”
One of the melodic hardcore’s staple acts in the ‘00s, it’s easy to forget that Comeback Kid are still out there grinding away and rushing stages like fifteen years ago. The band’s latest single “No Easy Way Out” is sharper and more aggressive than their previous records would indicate, which may hint at a new vector of approach for the amiable Canadian quintet. Listen to the “No Easy Way Out” here.
Fit For An Autopsy – Oh What The Future Holds
The musical evolution of New Jersey metallers Fit For An Autopsy has been an interesting one. What started as cookie-cutter deathcore that tried too hard to sub-drop is now the death metal equivalent of Gojira: crushing, dissonant, atmospheric, and fatalistic in its poeticism. New LP Oh What The Future Holds (out January 14th through Nuclear Blast) promises yet more existential despair soundtracked by groaning vocals, serpentine lead riffs and world-ending breakdowns. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Scowl – “Bloodhound”
I covered Scowl for this newsletter earlier this year and I’m now pleased to see that the Santa Cruz quartet has recently signed to Flatspot Records, who are releasing their debut LP, How Flowers Grow, on November 19th. The album’s lead single “Bloodhound” features vocalist and frontwoman Kat Moss’ snarling yell over a classic hardcore punk riff. It’s thick, fast and absolutely pissed off. Listen to “Bloodhound” here.
Converge & Chelsea Wolfe – Bloodmoon: I
Beginning with collaboration at The Netherlands’ Roadburn festival in 2016, legendary hardcore outfit Converge and ethereal dream-weaver Chelsea Wolfe have finally teamed up for their first collaborative LP. Bloodmoon: I (out November 19th via Epitaph Records) brings them together alongside Wolfe’s bandmate/writing partner Ben Chisholm and Cave In vocalist/guitarist Stephen Brodsky. It’s a formidable combination, one that promises to be full of harrowing instrumentals, churning atmospherics and emotional twists and turns. Stream the LP’s pre-release single here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
SeeYouSpaceCowboy – “Misinterpreting Constellations”
With the mid-2000s metalcore revival now in full swing, it only makes sense that San Diego outfit SeeYouSpaceCowboy would seek to reinvent it. On “Misinterpreting Constellations,” the first taste of their forthcoming LP, The Romance of Affliction (out November 5th through Pure Noise Records), the band blitz through a whirlwind of heavy music tropes with contemporary vigour. There’s crushing staccato beatdowns, saccharine emo-pop backing cleans, spazz freakouts, gorgeous instrumental leads, and vocalist Connie Sgarbossa’s imposing guttural vocals. Watch the Paul Thomas Anderson-aping video below:
Boy Scouts – Wayfinder
Oakland folk-pop songstress Taylor Vick knows all about shitty situations. Wayfinder is her latest project under the Boy Scouts moniker and it plays out like a sumptuous and breezy tragic comedy. Across ten tracks, Vick leads the listener through wistful tales of getting high, asking for forgiveness, wringing empty hands, and a life propelled by inexplicable shame and beautiful rage. Stream the full LP here (Bandcamp/Spotify).