by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Longface's music works on parallels. Hillbilly Wit, the Chicago quartet's upcoming full-length debut is the perfect title for a record with one foot in twangy post-hardcore and the other in brilliantly calculated noise pop. Every earnest hint of folk inspiration is matched with a jagged eruption of blistering force. This is one for the headphones, a masterclass in oddball dynamics and a character study of a complex mind. Longface have created a fearless record that has the intelligence of art-rock paired with a primal nature, a dissonant soul, and a jittery sense of aggression like the acid induced cowboy of it's cover art.
"Ozone" is part of the album's centerpiece, a tension filled song led by Anthony Focareto's soaring vocal croon, lilting through layers of cosmic guitars and a tight rhythmic groove. There's an otherworldly feel to it all, an ominous drift that recalls early Radiohead and maybe a sun-fried Clinic; embracing their own unique warped vision with equal parts beauty and existential space terror. Thick vocal harmonies add texture while the twin guitars of Focareto and Glenn Curranweave around, shifting chord progressions and disorienting melodies as the hypnotic rhythm locks itself in. The band punch their spaced-out bliss into overdrive as "Ozone" winds toward sonic bliss, hurtling forward, cowboy hat in hand, with a sense of exploration and wide-eyed wonder.
Longface's Hillbilly Wit is out October 27th via Sooper Records.