by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
My introduction to Richmond, Virginia’s Prayer Group came with the announcement of the noise rock band’s then upcoming tour with London’s finest, USA Nails. As their North American counterparts for a trip around the country last summer, Prayer Group are a fitting match and both bands played great sets at the show I was thrilled to attend back in February of last year. It has been some time since, but the band sound every bit as deranged and convulsive on their upcoming sophomore EP, Eudean. Due out July 19th via Buzzhowl Records (Damn Teeth, Beige Palace, Dead Tenants), their latest is crawling with immersive sludge and barrel scraping low-end.
“Landlord College,” the album’s second single and opening song, sets the tone early with a distorted guitar arpeggio that recalls the rawest of grunge riffs and a primal thud of bass and drums that pulls everything beneath the surface and into the dirt. The band stop and start, dipping in and out of dirge formed peaks, There isn’t anything pretty about this, the vocals ranging between dead eyed shouts and spoken cantations, slipping further into madness as they go. The band dig in, the guitars and bass become dense enough to swallow everything whole but the cavernous drums pound away, keeping the thick noise from collapsing in on itself. It’s big ugly fun for a new noise rock band well worth your time.