It may be a stretch to call much of anything that Sweet Williams do to be joyous, the tonality of this one is definitely more upbeat than their formula often allows. The guitars are still layered thick and with that kind of distortion that removes rust from scrapyards, each stretched progression and melodic vocal line pulled just shy of warping.
“Suspicion,” the album’s centerpiece already had a cinematic quality of sorts, but their new video takes the song’s warped twang and runs with it. Shot on a farm in rural Pennsylvania with director Ben Hammock, the band play a gang of cowboys just moseying about, with one cowboy’s mind fixated on past memories.
The moody trio make something akin to doom-punk: sprawling, commanding vocals glide over a thick swamp of locked-down low end and fried-out fuzz, climbing and falling in headbang-worthy spurts. If “Sucker” is any indication of what’s to come, their new album, Hell Was Full So We Came Back, promises to be a worthy follow-up.
“Monkey Bowling” is a dense and fun song packed with tons of sounds that mesh to create a charmingly catchy tune. Lyrically, the song is a collection of distended and surreal moments. There's enough pop sensibility here to leave you humming, and just enough lyrically to make you want to piece together the story being told.
The Richmond, VA based post-punk band are creating a dark mix of punk that draws elements from the raw burn of The Wipers to the shadowy romanticism of The Cure. Their sound is definitely informed by 80’s post-punk and it’s many shapes, but the quartet are re-purposing their influences into their own.
The melodies are big and memorable, sounding something like Elliott Smith writing Weezer songs, every hook hitting just between sugary exuberance and self-reflective introspection. The band self-released their latest album, I Never Said I Didn’t Care, a fully realized LP that hangs heavy on the blistering anthems.
Set to release Looming, their first new full length in four years on September 27th via their new home at Dirtnap Records (Marked Men, Proud Parents, Dusk), the duo have expanded into a trio, but their psych pop induced garage fuzz remains quintessentially their own. It’s fun. It’s dirty. It rattles the brain with a sugary glory.
Disorientation seems to be the key for Brooklyn’s ESSi, the duo comprised of Jessica Ackerley and former Yvette drummer Rick Daniel. Set to release their full length debut, Vital Creatures, on October 4th with Ramp Local, their sound is mechanical and alien, an experimental post-punk dive in the dark shadows of the future.
“Rist” is built on a repetitive bass loop, one that has the band claiming the song is “the closest we’ve gotten to dance music,” though we’re not talking pop here. It’s a sordid and dark track, that builds with occasional stabs of guitar and melody, mostly careening with a mechanical grind and outstretched feedback.
Set to release their debut album, Carnage Hall, on September 27th via Upset The Rhythm, its a gloriously kaleidoscope dose of post-punk and psych explorations. The entire thing feels like its covered in a hyper-glow, the detached skronks and spirals of the sextet sounding minimal in essence while there’s a lot going on in actuality.
The Portland, ME trio are keeping true to their lo-fi roots however, and with that comes prolific schedules. The band will release a new 7” single on August 23rd via Salty Speakers (Rick Rude, Greed Island) and that ramshackle, this-could-fall-apart-at-any-minute, spirit remains alive and majestic on our first taste of the record, “Cup.”
Sometimes the best way to truly view the scope of sonic assault is to pair different takes on the genre together, which Retratando Voces have done with a split between Don’t Try and Black Ribbon. While one is based in the low-end grit of noise rock dirt, the other takes an electronic approach, but both are equally obliged to demolish eardrums.
“Talking Secret” from young Los Angeles-based upstarts Milly is a true slow-burn that oozes thick, syrupy melodies that unfold at a deliberate but assured pace. The band’s first single on Dangerbird Records is complete with a seemingly straightforward video directed by Logan Rice that matches the song’s delightfully moody atmosphere.
Kleinmeister’s second single, “Beauty,” starts with familiar warm tape hiss and soft, driving guitar. The singing on the song immediately sets it apart, more present and raw than on Garbus’ previous recordings, with swooping delivery that begins slow and deliberate and gradually works in more movement and impulse.
Boston trio Sneeze are getting ready to release their third full length album (and fifth release overall), Fin, due out September 13th via Tor Johnson Records. Recorded once again with the renowned Justin Pizzoferrato, the band are honing in their blend of grunge, pop punk, and fuzz, adding a degree of clarity to their expanding dynamics.
