Weekly Roundup: September 18th
Weekly Roundup: September 18th
Featuring It Dies Tiday, Don Broco, Tomb Mold, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
While She Sleeps – “SELF HELL”
Sheffield metalcore group While She Sleeps have made a valiant return to the scene with a wild new single. Their newest song is the title track from their forthcoming sixth album, Self Hell, due for self-release on March 15th next year, and follows 2021’s well-received Sleeps Society. According to guitarist Sean Long:
“The name of the album is the foundation of how we view ourselves and the world. Everyone has a subjective experience like no other. Yet the constant that binds us IS the differences between us and the fact that we are all suffering in our own way. Don’t be too quick to judge and demonise, your time will come for redemption or damnification.”
Watch the video for “SELF HELL” below:
Truth Club – Running With the Chase
North Carolina’s Truth Club deal in propulsive mid-tempo indie rocks that flirts rapaciously with emo, shoegaze, and other subgenre flavours. The Raleigh quartet’s upcoming sophomore LP is titled Running From the Chase and drops on October 6th through Double Double Whammy. Vocalist/guitarist Travis Harrington notes how his struggles with mental health, an acute period of depression, and subsequent recovery informed much of the record:
“I struggle with bipolar disorder, and when I started writing these songs, I was really struggling with it, so much so that I didn’t come close to finishing any of the songs at the time… Trying to extract the ugly hopelessness and put it in this jar, I can observe from time to time as a point of reference for what that looks like in my brain.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
It Dies Today – “Buried by Black Clouds”
Seminal Buffalo metalcore outfit It Dies Today have been relatively inactive for the better part of a decade–that is, until now, and I couldn't be more excited to have them back. These guys were a force to be reckoned with in the second-wave metalcore boom of the 2000s and the supremacy of the Trustkill Records years; records like 2004’s The Caittiff Choir were hugely influential to bands like Counterparts, A Day To Remember, and more. To cap off their return in style, the group will also be taking the stage at the closing date of this year’s Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 24th, alongside Haste The Day, BTBAM, Inclination, Strife, and many others. Listen to “Buried by Black Clouds” here.
CLASS – If You've Got Nothing
Ever since the release of their But Who's Reading Me? release back in February, I’ve had my eye on Tuscon’s CLASS. Well, they’ve finally come through with another stellar slab of rowdy tunes, with their new 12-track LP, If You've Got Nothing, dropping on October 6th through Feel It Records. The Arizona quartet deliver a jagged mix of glam, garage, and power pop, wholly embracing volatile punk sounds both old and new. As Tobi Vail and Hayes Waring put it in the group’s Bandcamp bio:
“In a world of meme punk rockabilly grandads, it’s the classicists that really have something to say. Straight lines, hooks, and a clear path to your heart.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
FIDLAR – “Nudge”
We last heard from California party starters FIDLAR back in March with the release of their That’s Life EP. (Frontman Zac Carper also stopped by The Pitch pod for a gnarly Hit List episode, so go check that out.) Now, Zac & Co. are back with another ripper titled “Nudge,” which transforms from a simple, quiet opening passage into a roaring rush of distortion and friendly lyrical motivation. As Carper puts it: “Nudge is a song about your friend that keeps cooking it, so you gotta give them a ‘nudge’ to get their shit together.” We all know one, don’t we, folks? Listen to “Nudge” here.
Future Static – Liminality
Another new act on my radar comes from Naarm/Melbourne in the form of local metal quintet Future Static. The group have unveiled their highly anticipated full-length debut, Liminality, out November 24th via Wild Thing Records. The album’s lead single, “Roach Queen,” initially caught my attention with down-tuned riffage, stomping breakdowns and a powerhouse performance from frontwoman Amariah Cook. The track’s decadent music video was filmed and directed by the visionary Colin Jeffs (Make Them Suffer, Alpha Wolf), who translates Cook's lyrics into a striking and grotesque visual palette. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Don Broco – “Birthday Party”
Bedford’s favourite sons Don Broco have dropped a shiny new single to celebrate their upcoming ‘Birthday Party’ tour dates throughout the UK at the end of the year. In keeping with that theme, “Birthday Party” is another slice of genre-bending weirdness from the UK quartet: distorted guitars rushing into blasts of synths, as frontman Rob Damiani’s catchy vocal lines zig and zag from drug dealers to weird looks at the pub, from sadness and ennui to resignation and having a (begrudgingly) good time. The track’s music video is also suitably surreal and disturbing, consistent with their house style. (New album, please and thank you.) Watch the video for “Birthday Party” below:
Tomb Mold – The Enduring Spirit
This one was a surprise release that got announced last week and then promptly dropped on Friday: It’s the newest album from Toronto cosmic death-doom outfit Tomb Mold, titled The Enduring Spirit, out now through 20 Buck Spin. The band previously self-released their Aperture Of Body tape last year as a follow-up to 2019’s Planetary Clairvoyance LP. On their latest effort, it’s clear that the Ontario trio are looking to push outward from death metal norms, embracing their progressive tendencies through jazz-like fantasy sequences and warp-speed guitar leads. Stream the LP in full 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.
C.O.F.F.I.N – Australia Stops
Australia Stops, the fifth studio album from Sydney hard rockers C.O.F.F.I.N, is finally out now through Damaged Record Co., and folks, it’s a fucking scorcher. It’s chock full of high-voltage guitars, pounding rhythms, and snarling hooks that pay homage to Australia’s half-century punk lineage. The LP comes off the back of a massive year of touring across Europe, the UK, the US, and Australia and was recorded at The Pet Food Factory studio with producer Jason Whalley (Frenzal Rhomb).
As their Bandcamp bio explains, blazing cuts like “Lover’s Leash” exemplify the band’s “evolution into more melodious, 1970s Australiana and boogie rock and roll,” sounding like the bastard child of classic AC/DC and Overkill-era Motörhead jacked-up on stepped-on servo speed. Meanwhile, the album’s title track takes “a look into ‘idle-Australia,’ our government action (or lack thereof) to social issues and the overarching notion of fear of change in this country,” with drummer/vocalist Ben Portnoy roaring: “When the city burns up you get out, when the flint hits shot you get down.”
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
Who needs a DJ when Mat Kerekes is in the house? The Citizen frontman, Krypt skinsman, and Muay Thai monster stopped by The Pitch pod last week with a curated Hit List that offers a real-time glimpse into the whims and machinations of his almighty Spotify algorithm. We also chat about Mat’s many projects and the sense of rejuvenation in the Citizen camp as they prepare to release LP #5. Check it out in full below: