Weekly Roundup: September 11th
Weekly Roundup: September 11th
Featuring Hotline TNT, Paint It Black, AGLO, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Hotline TNT – “I Thought You’d Change”
Fuzzed-out shoegaze outfit Hotline TNT, the project of Brooklyn-based musician Will Anderson, has a new record, Cartwheel, coming out on November 3rd via Third Man Records. Speaking on the album’s latest single, Anderson says:
“This song is about wanting a friendship to turn into something more, seeing it happen against all odds, wondering if it was the right thing to do, then wanting it to change back to a friendship or even a secret third style of attachment that I can’t identify or hold onto.”
Watch the video for “I Thought You’d Change” below:
Capra – Errors
From the heart of Louisiana comes metallic hardcore band Capra, who have announced the release of their forthcoming sophomore album, Errors, due out on October 6 via Metal Blade/Blacklight. The group’s latest record was produced and engineered by Andrew Hernandez (This Will Destroy You, Mammoth Grinder), with mixing by Taylor Young and mastering by Brad Boatright, who both collaborated with the band on their 2021 debut, In Transmission. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Wayfarer – “To Enter My House Justified”
US metallers Wayfarer have the curated aesthetic of what I’m calling ‘Red Dead Redemption but make it loud and heavy,’ essentially mixing black metal, gothic country, and Americana into a volatile, arcane brew. The Colorado quartet have been around for over a decade, and their latest LP, American Gothic, arrives on October 27th through Profound Lore Records and was produced by sonic purveyor Arthur Rizk (Eternal Champion, Sumerlands). As the band states:
“What we have now is a world full of oil drillers and railroad barons. Cattle thieves and company men. This is the new American Gothic.”
Listen to “To Enter My House Justified” here.
SPRINTS – Letter to Self
Dublin four-piece SPRINTS have announced the release of their debut album, Letter to Self, due on January 5th next year through City Slang. The band’s sound has crystalized around a love for “abrasive punk-rock, synthesising influences ranging from early Pixies [to] Bauhaus, King Gizzard, IDLES and LCD Soundsystem.” According to singer, guitarist and lead songwriter Karla Chubb:
“It was about being honest and energetic and making people a little uncomfortable at the same time, whether that was musically or thematically. Like: sadness or anger, but make it danceable.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
The Sex Guys – “We Are Not Your Friends”
Hot out of the seedy Gold Coast underbelly comes local punked-up garage rock trio The Sex Guys (stellar name, by the way). The QLD outfit have been teasing the release of their debut single for weeks now with the cheeky tagline of “Big Things Cumming” (no notes). The three-piece have described the no-frills track as “a love letter to the toils of playing shows on the live circuit and the stress of being good enough.” Listen to “We Are Not Your Friends” here.
Paint It Black – Famine
Philly hardcore legends Paint It Black are returning with a new record on a shiny new label. Famine arrives on November 3rd via Revelation Records and is the group’s first batch of new material since 2013’s Invisible. The quartet—consisting of vocalist Dan Yemin, bassist Andy Nelson, guitarist Josh Agran, and drummer Jared Shavelson—have previously released three full-lengths and three seven-inch EPs, and their latest LP returns to their trademark hardcore fury with eight vital tracks dissecting “the rose-coloured tellings of American history with surgical precision.” Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Koyo – “Life’s A Pill”
Last week, we got another single from what I'm confident in declaring to be my most anticipated Album of the Year: Would You Miss It?, the full-length debut from Long Island melodic hardcore quintet Koyo, dropping on September 29th from Pure Noise Records. “Life’s A Pill” follows the album’s previous singles “Message Like A Bomb” and “You’re On The List (Minus One),” and it’s another anthemic, sing-a-long hit with crunchy guitars, big choruses and a blue-tinged video that matches the track’s morbid focus on death, sadness and grief. Watch the video for “Life’s A Pill” below:
AGLO – Build Fear
Melbourne-based rifflord Aaron Osborne has unveiled the forthcoming debut album from his sludgy, sci-fi death-metal project AGLO. The LP is titled Build Fear and will be released on November 10th via the good folks over at Brilliant Emperor Records. The record was co-produced, recorded and mixed by Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studios, with Taylor’s brother Colin (Twitching Tongues, God’s Hate) on drums. According to Osbourne, “All the songs on this record are based on specific episodes or storylines from Star Trek: Voyager.” Hell yeah, lonely ten-year-old me in an oversized “Live long and prosper” tee is mad stoked. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Listen to all these tracks and more on the TPD 2023 CUTS playlist, updated weekly.
HEAVY METTLE:
A closer, more in-depth look at a new record that ticks all my boxes.
Kvelertak – Endling
Stavanger sextet Kvelertak are one of my favourite bands of the 2010s. Their self-titled record is one of the strongest debuts of the decade, and catching their Soundwave set in 2012 to about 100 awestruck people was a huge highlight. The group specialize in a raucous, leather-studded mix of doom, thrash, glam, punk and black metal, anchored at all times by the roaring triple axe attack of guitarists Vildar Landa, Bjarte Lund Rolland and Maciek Ofstad. Their latest album, Endling, is the band’s fifth LP and second with drummer Håvard Takle Ohr and lead vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen after 2020’s under-appreciated Splid.
The album serves as an ode to “the stories of the extinct and dying men and women of Norway, [where] old and new myths, culture, and rituals come to life.” Musically, however, it’s business as usual for these rowdy Norwegians, with a consistent black 'n' roll feel that hits like a full-throttle mix of Judas Priest meets Turbonegro. Tracks like “Likvoke” (tr. “Equalize”) feature high-energy punk tempos, ear-worm riffs, duelling guitar harmonies, and blazing solos, while the epic “Døgeniktens Kvad” (tr. “The Verse Of The Eternal Night”) pulls together tremolos and blast beats with swampy banjo riffage—and it totally rules.
Stream here: Spotify | YouTube
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Joining The Pitch pod this week is the affable Candice Bankovacki, vocalist and frontwoman for Brisbane/Gold Coast metallic hardcore outfit Crave Death. Candice is a fierce talent in the realm of heavy music, and our chat covers the reception to the band’s recent four-track Die Slow EP, as well as Candice’s involvement in the upcoming Australian Women in Music Awards later in the month (Sep 26-27) alongside legends like Emmy Mack, Tiana Speter and Ebony Story. Then we roll through Candice’s Hit List, filled with a choice selection of local pit starters and hardcore classics. Check it out in full below: