by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
There’s something special about being able to put your trust in a record label, the type where you’re willing to check out each of their new releases, regardless of familiarity. Learning Curve Records has become one of those very labels thanks to records from Bummer, Child Bite, Multicult, The Blind Shake, and beyond. The Minneapolis label has followed in the footsteps of Am Rep, and they’ve built one of the most consistently reliable noise rock catalogs of the past decade. Which brings us to New Primals, an exciting new addition to the label, and a bright spot in modern DIY noise rock. Set to release Horse Girl Energy on March 20th, their full length debut (following a split with Pinko and an EP) finds the Minneapolis trio equally freaked out and aggravated, as they grapple with identity, acceptance, and primal emotion that comes from grappling for your place in the world. Mixed and mastered by Todd Rittmann (Dead Rider, US Maple), every moment of their record feels appropriately unhinged and decisively unwound.
Following singles “Modern Lover” and “A Beast With Two Backs,” the band continued their fractured noise rock contorted version of dance punk with “Soft Bullet.” Opening with a serrated guitar line that rings with abrasion, the vocals come howling in with a stuttered snare beat, the bass noticeably absent. The song unravels before long the mix gets a kick in the teeth as the rhythm section surges to life, bend and thrashing together with the guitars toward something violent and seasick, an approach that picks up the song’s raw intensity and mounting tension.
Tour Dates:
Mar 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ Mortimer’s (Album Release Show)
Mar 24 - Fayetteville, AR @ Backspace
Mar 25 - Denton, TX @ Mustard Zone - w/ Super Thief
Mar 26 - Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie's - w/ Super Thief
Mar 27 - Houston, TX @ Red Dwarf - w/ Super Thief
Mar 28 - New Orleans, LA @ Banks St Bar
Mar 30 - Tampa, FL @ Shuffle's
Mar 31 - Miami, FL @ Churchill’s
Apr 2 - Atlanta, GA @ Star Bar
Apr 3 - Asheville, NC @ Static Age Records
Apr 5 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Century
Apr 7 - Washington, DC @ Songbyrd
Apr 8 - Boston, MA @ OG's
Apr 10 - Saratoga Springs, NY @ Desperate Annie’s
Apr 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Our Wicked Lady
Apr 13 - Rochester, NY @ Rosen Krown
Apr 14 - Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
Apr 15 - Nashville, TN @ DRKMTTR
Apr 16 - Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
Apr 17 - Milwaukee, WI @ X Ray Arcade
Apr 18 - Racine, WI @ George's Tavern
Apr 20 - Minneapolis, MN @ HiWatt House