by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Last week we had the pleasure of sharing Clearance's new single "Had A Fantastic," and today we're excited to share that Clearance's own Greg Obis and Kevin Fairbairn have formed a new record label called Born Yesterday. While their own Chicago scene is more than fertile with great new bands, the first release from the label comes by way of Western Mass' own Landowner. The quintet's album, Blatant, is just that - there's about as much subtlety here as a hammer to the skull. Self described as "weak hardcore," Dan Shaw and company have built themselves a deviant post-punk record thick with wit and abrasive tonality, skewering everything from the far-right to environmental disasters. It's not for the faint of heart, but then again, little is these days.
First single "Moving Again" is the album's opening track, an immediate statement of sonic intent with a dense low end groove and harsh stabbing guitars. The sound is clean and focused, blunt with force and upfront in its aggressive tendencies. With all the charm and sour humor of Big Black and The Fall, Shaw's lyrics are bleak but biting, lashing out at disposable culture, entitlement, gentrification, and instant gratification. He barks, "I can’t make it work, so I’m moving again, I’m not making friends, so I’m moving again ... I need a clean slate to start again, everything I own can be thrown away" before eventually expanded outward to "Conquistador sees an empty shore, blind to what he destroys, and I’m moving again, keep moving, I’ve burned all my bridges and I’m all alone, I can’t clean up this mess, so I’m moving again". It definitely stings in a commodity obsessed culture, but damn if Shaw's harsh yelps don't ring so true over the band's tightly coiled riffs and motorik rhythm.
Making something this clean sound this dirty is a feat in its own right. Check out the single and the band's upcoming tour dates below.
Landowner's Blatant is out July 13th via Born Yesterday Records.
Tour Dates:
7/20 - Northampton, MA @ Red Cross
7/27 - Buffalo, NY @ [ask a punk]
7/28 - Yellow Springs, OH @ [ask a punk]
7/29 - Dayton, OH @ Blind Bob's
7/30 - Bloomington, IN @ Blockhouse Bar
7/31 - Chicago, IL @ Flood House
8/01 - Milwaukee, WI @ Bremen Cafe
8/02 - Detroit, MI @ New Dodge Lounge
8/03 - Toronto, ON @ [ask a punk]
8/04 - Montreal, QC @ La Sotternea