Weekly Roundup: September 30th
Featuring Blood Incantation, CANDY, Bike Routes, and more.
ERRONEOUS BOTCH:
As a fixture and ongoing inspiration in Naarm/Melbourne’s hardcore scene, Cat Rosemary’s fierce vocals and formidable stage presence bring a visceral edge to the group’s latest EP release, The Reckoning. Cat talks about the genesis of Gravitate, the importance of a communal ethos, writing about retributive justice through a theological frame, and finding strength and power in catharsis. Check out my chat with Cat below:
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Now, on with the words…
SIDE A:
A curated selection of cool shit for you to listen to.
Bike Routes – “World Apart”
Sometimes, you hear a song that stops you dead in your tracks. Now, I know that sounds dramatic, but that’s what happened with “World Apart”. As Bike Routes, South Jersey singer/songwriter David Lawrence Osterhout has a knack for writing big, inescapable hooks packaged with enough post-hardcore grit to stand out from the slick pop pack.
It’s fantastic stuff, and I’m excited about the potential of his forthcoming Rush of Energy EP, produced by Zach Tuch (Touché Amoré, Silverstein, Movements), out October 25th through Blue Grape Music. Watch the video for “World Apart” below:
CANDY – Flipping
Hardcore extremists CANDY only released their last record, the genre-agnostic wrecking ball It’s Inside You, earlier this year. Still, the Richmond quartet are already back on the grind for another frantic salvo.
This one’s called Flipping, and the cover artwork should tell you everything you need to know. The EP was mixed by producer/engineer Kurt Ballou (of Converge fame) at God City Studios, and it’s out on October 16th through Triple B Records. Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Hevenshe – “Essential”
Former Tonight Alive frontwoman Jenna McDougall launched her solo efforts as Hevenshe in 2023 with the release of her debut EP, Wild Wild Heart. For her latest single, McDougall decamped to L.A. for a collaborative songwriting session with Maz De Vita (WAAX), Ben Stewart (Slowly Slowly), and Gab Strum (Japanese Wallpaper).
The result is “Essential”: a carefree, infectious anthem inspired by dreams, art, and the desire for a “more sensuous and satisfying existence”. It’s a triumphant track that finds McDougall at her most arresting and uplifting. Listen to “Essential” here.
Disentomb – Nothing Above
Aussie death metal purveyors Disentomb have been crushing the worldwide stage since they burst onto the scene back in 2008. The quartet are set to follow up their third album with a brand-new EP, Nothing Above, out on October 18th through Unique Leader Records.
The EP will feature four tracks that push the band’s brutality in exciting experimental directions, with what vocalist Jord James calls “a more evolved sound.” Stream the EP’s pre-release singles here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Fever Shack – “Bullet Dodger” (feat. Death Tax)
It’s shack attack time, ba-beeeee! Naarm/Melbourne hardcore outfit Fever Shack are back after their self-imposed six-month hiatus with a charged-up new single titled “Bullet Dodger” (nice), and this one sports a wicked guest feature from Death Tax.
The band put out their Raw Doggin’ Reality LP (great title) through Stiff Cut Records last year, and they’re set to return to the stage at Hardcore at the Bird 2024 in Frankston next month alongside Trenchknife, Heat, and F.O.T.S. Gravitate (see above). Listen to “Bullet Dodger” here.
SIDE B:
More tracks for you. Deep cuts for the real heads. Still cool.
Staff Party – In Every Pore
Brighton’s Staff Party initially caught my attention last year when they released their Dread three-track. While the band have been mostly quiet since then, that is (thankfully) no longer the case.
The “Noise Rock / Post-Hardcore Power Trio” have roared back to the fold with “In Every Pore,” a genuinely monstrous track inspired by “panic attacks & meltdowns” alongside Converge, Nine Inch Nails, Failure, and more. It makes for a visceral listen, overflowing with spit, bile, and earth-shaking grooves. Stream the single in full here (Bandcamp/Spotify).
Coldwave – “The Ants”
Adelaide post-punkers Coldwave have returned with a new two-track release for 2024. The Ants b/w Italia ‘06 is out now via P.A.K. Records, with both tracks produced and recorded by Bonnie Knight (2024 AIR Independent Producer of the Year – Amyl & The Sniffers, Angie McMahon, ENOLA) and mixed by James Trevascus (Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Billy Nomates, RVG).
“The Ants” is a tense, loud synchrony of angular guitars, bright horns, and layered vocal delivery. According to frontman Harrison Evans:
“We returned to a really comfortable place writing this song. It’s built around reminiscing on childhood, and is a bit of a soul-searching expedition around the realisation that you’re one of many.”
Watch the clip for “The Ants” below:
Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere
I’ve never been much of an illicit substance guy (you do you, etc.), but if there’s one band that warrants a little brain expansion, it’s Colorado’s Blood Incantation. While it feels reductive to label them as a death metal band, the group’s new record Absolute Elsewhere (out this week on October 4th through Century Media) is set to take their penchant for prog-fuelled heaviness and project it through “The Stargate”.
Potential travellers can expect “a hallucinatory synthesis of science fiction and folk horror, where mind-bending imagery and unsettling atmospheres converge in a surreal tale of primeval blood magic, interdimensional travel and grotesque otherworldly technology.” Hell yeah. 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.
Pale Waves – Smitten
On LP#4, it feels like Manchester indie-pop outfit Pale Waves have finally come into their own. Their 2018 debut, My Mind Makes Noises, merged 80s pop and emo theatrics with their goth revivalist aesthetic, bolstered by production from The 1975's George Daniel and Matty Healy. Their sophomore follow-up, Who Am I?, soundtracked a crisis of identity, pulling heavily from 90s alt-rock. Meanwhile, 2022’s Unwanted leaned into the bombastic pop-punk of the mid-2000s.
By contrast, the quartet’s latest record doesn’t mine other times and sounds for influence, instead turning inward to take inspiration from vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie’s teenage diary, exploring “the excitement and euphoria as well as the confusion and pain of early queer relationships.”
This makes Smitten the band’s most explicitly queer record (see “Gravity”), and it’s all the better for it, imbuing each track with “romantic, delicate, and feminine” odes to shame, passion, melancholy, and desire.
Stream here: Bandcamp | Spotify