by Devon Chodzin (@bigugly)
At a time when trudging, downstrummed guitar is the hallmark of popular indie rock, Pittsburgh DIY experts Silver Car Crash stick their nose up at simplicity. The band’s gnarly, garage-y post-punk inhabits the outer limit of guitar music, exhibiting the four-piece’s ample skills. That they then choose to filter those skills through noise, distortion, and other carnage is a part of the band’s scrappy charm. On their forthcoming Crafted Sounds / Michi Tapes LP, Shattered Shine, the maturing quartet grapples with climate doom, political apathy, and the growing pains every late twenty-something must endure. Silver Car Crash dances about, no answers to their grand questions in sight, but enjoying the journey as much as anyone can.
Today, Silver Car Crash releases “Sun Dried Tomatoes,” a gritty, kinetic track highlighting bassist Brandon Walker’s indifferent vocals. Per Walker, the track is “a sort of cynic and sarcastic response to the confusion I feel observing the apathy and complacency in our society towards significant impending disaster — specifically the climate crisis and increasing tension politically.” Walker’s droll delivery amidst frantic post-punk underscores his vision of a world where catastrophe is coming and no one’s responding accordingly. It’s alarming, but you can, and arguably should, still dance to it.