Weekly Roundup: September 25th
Weekly Roundup: September 25th
Featuring Chelsea Wolfe, blink-182, Volatile Ways, and more.
MOSH PITHY:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Silent Planet – “Anunnaki”
Californian metallers Silent Planet are definitely believers of the Mulder and Scully variety. (IYKYK.) The most recent single from their upcoming album Superbloom, which drops on November 3rd through Solid State Records, is named after the “Annunaki”—ancient Sumerian and Babylonian deities, who also inspired the work of pseudo-archeologist Erich von Däniken, aka the “ancient aliens” guy—and as you can tell from the record’s cover, lights in the sky is a persistent theme. The band’s latest offering follows previous pre-release cuts like “Collider,” “:Signal:,” and the explosive “Antimatter” (my personal favourite track). Watch the video for “Anunnaki” below:
Wayside – What Does Your Soul Look Like?
Naarm/Melbourne alt-rock duo Wayside have finally revealed details for their forthcoming album release, What Does Your Soul Look Like?, due for independent release on November 10th. The pair travelled to Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, to make the record at Studio 4 Recording with Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip, who’s worked with Turnstile, Title Fight, Balance & Composure, and many, many more. In a recent interview for Mixdown mag, guitarist Josh Ehmer talked about working with Yip:
“I mean, he’s THE guy when it comes to music we would align ourselves with. We’re both big sweaters of a lot of his work. We knew that he would become a part of our band and have our backs more than anyone else would and a lot more than we would for ourselves. We have full faith in him, and he, no doubt, elevated us to a level we wouldn’t have reached on our own.”
Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Spotify).
Chelsea Wolfe – “Dusk”
Dark folk songstress Chelsea Wolfe certainly likes to keep things mysterious. In describing her latest standalone single, “Dusk”—produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek and her first for new label Loma Vista Recordings (home to Manchester Orchestra, Ghost, Militarie Gun)—Wolfe elevates her brooding, slow-burn gothic rock number to the epic realm of Dante’s Divine Comedy:
“The friends or lovers have gone through hell and back but are still and always united in the end by love, like pottery gone through the fire, broken and pieced back together.”
Listen to “Dusk” here.
Grave Secrets – Til Your Lungs Fall Out…
Currently one of California’s best-kept secrets, I’m betting L.A.’s Grave Secrets won’t stay underground for much longer. The group are part of a rising scene where Latino kids who grew up in the Southern California indie/punk scene are now creating the community that they always wished they had, drawing influence from East Coast acts like Title Fight and other post-grunge outfits. The band’s forthcoming debut album, Til Your Lungs Fall Out, was produced by Alex Estrada (Joyce Manor, Touché Amore) and arrives on October 27th through Wiretap Records. Stream the LP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
blink-182 – “More Than You Know”
Now, for a band that needs little introduction… it’s the much-anticipated return of pop-punk royalty blink-182, who have announced a new record with Tom DeLonge since his homecoming last year. One More Time, out on October 20th through Columbia Records, will be the trio’s ninth studio full-length and their first album with their classic line-up—completed by Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker—since 2011’s Neighborhoods. The band have dropped two singles from the record, including the tearjerker title track—which Hoppus called the “the Mount Rushmore of Blink-182 songs” alongside “Feeling This,” “Dammit” and “What’s My Age Again?”—and the yearning “More Than You Know”. Listen here.
Strange Joy – Power Pop
I first came across Houston post-hardcore outfit Strange Joy last year following the release of their debut, self-explanatory 5 Tracks EP. It was full of gruff, energetic hardcore tunes with an ear for muscular melodies and aggressive vocals–it was and still is extremely my shit. Well, the Texan crew are back with a new four-track release, cheekily titled Power Pop, and it’s out on October 20th via the good folks at Sunday Drive Records. According to their Bandcamp bio: “Power Pop is titled appropriately—this is Strange Joy at their most powerful sounding yet.” Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Volatile Ways – “Pink Mist Wish List”
I wrote about this one for No Echo earlier this week, so I won’t go too long about it here. (Just read the article, okay?) What I will say, however, is that “Pink Mist Wish List,” the newest assbeater from Newcastle heavyweights Volatile Ways, is one mean, brutal motherfucker, and you should absolutely double-tap it into your brain, pronto. As bassist Lewy Glass (also of Honest Crooks) told me over email:
“We could make a track about a list of people you want to shoot in the head.”
‘Nuff said, really. Watch the video for “Pink Mist Wish List” below:
Pulses. – It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This
Virginia post-hardcore band Pulses. have announced a new album, It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This, coming out on September 29 via Oh Word? Records. The record was engineered, produced, and mixed by the band’s own Caleb Taylor, and it features guest vocals from members of The Callous Daoboys, With Sails Ahead, and Granite State—a true ensemble affair. The quartet are definitely leaning into their chaotic and sassy mix of hardcore and mathcore, but the album’s latest offering is also a lot more theatrical and downright funky, with guest vocals from Hansel Romero (nightlife), Joey Lancaster (Belle), and Gavin Cole. 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.
The National – Laugh Track
I wasn’t expecting to talk about a new record from Cincinnati rockers The National this week, but the band dropped their newest LP, Laugh Track, on Monday and much to my surprise, it’s kind of dope. Now, to be fair, I haven’t enjoyed a National record this much since 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, and I did;t much care for First Two Pages of Frankenstein, the band's ninth studio album, released earlier this year.
Recorded via impromptu sessions at producer Tucker Martine’s Portland studio following the release of Frankenstein, much of Laugh Track’s material was honed in from live performances throughout this year. The end result is what the band’s own Bandcamp bio declares to be their “most freewheeling, all-hands-on-deck album in years.” But is that true?
Well, there’s a three-track run closing out Side A that’s got some of the band’s most engaging material. “Turn off the House” is lush and serene, a rich, meditative composition underscored by glimmering synth layers. Meanwhile, “Smoke Detector,” a nearly eight-minute number recorded on a whim in June during a Vancouver soundcheck, is raw, sprawling, and cathartic. It’s a colossal art-rock dirge that finds Matt Berninger’s stern abstract poetry bristling against prickly guitar lines and drummer Bryan Devendorf’s jittery percussion.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
It’s going to be hard (get it?) for us to top last week’s guest with Harms Way axe-slinger, esteemed edgemen, and indomitable HardLore co-host Bo Lueders stopping by the show. Bo took us through a pit-ready Hit List stacked with underrated and/or sleeper tracks from popular bands and records. We chat about Harms Way’s remarkable new album, the importance of sequencing, post-pandemic anxieties, the difficulty of crafting epic closers, and the Wild West of the Napster years. Check it out in full below: