by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
It’s been just over a decade since we last heard from Boston’s Lady Bones. At the time, they’d just released their second record Terse via Midnight Werewolf Records (Rick Rude, Nanny, Twin Foxes). Ten years is a long time to be away in the world of DIY rock music, but Lady Bones had carved out their own special sound, a mix of brash post-hardcore and sludgy front-porch rock that felt punchy and caustic but nuanced. Like many of their peers (think Kal Marks, Snoozer, and Soft Fangs), the band always took a rollercoaster approach to songwriting, winding from blistering heaviness into reserved verses and a general sense of unpredictability that kept everything off-kilter without losing focus. While never announced, Lady Bones quietly called it a day back in 2017, but not before recording one more album that has been shelved ever since. Fast forward to 2026 and that album, Downed, is finally set for release as a free download on August 21st.
Whether you’re and old fan or new to the band, Downed is most definitely worth a listen. In advance of the album, we’re reintroduced to Lady Bones with “Centerfold,” a propulsive ripper of tension and anxiety wrapped around knotted progressions and rattling rhythms. Sean Gilston’s (guitar, vocals) voice has always been one of the band’s defining characteristics, a warm howl that’s disarmingly melodic, subtly swarming, and always leading us forward into the dark. The trio have a knack for digging out massive riffs and twangy-but-not-twangy melodies, and “Centerfold” most definitely bursts with a swampy sort of malaise before erupting in a dirge of pointed distortion as the band lament eternal damnation with a tidal wave of fuzzy destruction.