by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Seattle’s Black Ends have spent the past five years establishing themselves as one of the Pacific Northwest’s most exciting new bands. Known for both explosive live shows and their uniquely corrosive take on grunge, punk, and noise pop that they’ve lovingly dubbed “gunk pop,” the trio have long been one to watch, and they’re about to up to ante with their long awaited full length debut, Psychotic Spew. Due out on October 11th via Youth Riot Records (So Pitted, Wimps, Gal Pal), the record is built on abrasion and abstraction, stomping and churning between warped distortion and an ever present need to rampage. Black Ends are here to help blast through the struggle, bringing marginalized voices to the forefront amid a set of howling “gunk pop” tunes that pay homage to the past while carving out their own unhinged accessibility.
“Bent,” the album’s lead single, really says it all. The structure, the tonality, the wonky tempos of the song all feel elastic, contorted, and well… inherently bent. Led by Nicolle Swims’ gloriously off-kilter guitars that skronk with detachment and cut in shifting patterns, Black Ends weave a crooked path forward on a song that feels like a new breed of FM gold. “Bent” seemingly pulls from the wizardry of Brainiac, the melodic grit of Sleater-Kinney, and the pop splendor of Hole, boiling it down into something undeniably their own. Gnarled and full of hooky pop dissonance, the band tangle together Swims’ triumphantly engaging vocals with an unpredictable rhythm and a sonic framework that sputters with disarming intention.
Speaking about the song, Swims shared:
“‘Bent’ is a Silly Little Gunk Pop Jingle about rapidly losing grip on reality. A dissociative’s anthem. For when you seem to finally wake up again but a thought looms in the back of your mind; that even though you may feel something now, maybe shutting down was the safer bet. You’re present. You see it, but reality is still not your friend. Your friends are not your friends. You are not safe. You see it. You see it, but life is a polluted mess. There exists so many bad ideas. Too many bad opinions. Your thoughts aren’t your own anymore. So much suffering and turmoil. Propaganda eats at our brains everyday with no letup. We live and we love in a brain rot state so, why not dissociate? You see it. You see it, but you switch off your brain to feel safe in the dark. It’s all ‘Bent’.”