Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death are back at it again with Thirds, their new record, due out June 22nd. Written over what could be described as a strange few years for the world, the band’s corrosive structures are propulsive and delightfully off-kilter, but fully realized, the push and pull working in favor of their melodic core.
Vessel’s music is dynamic, bouncing through disjointed skronk one moment and intertwined in dense melodies the next. Led by Alex Tuisku, who handles vocals and drums, it makes sense that the rhythms and hooks are given equal focus, bright spots with a locked-in pulse that allows the rest of the band to flood the mix with any and all textures.
floral print’s guide to practical living and magical thinking, due out on May 17th via the trifecta of Rope Bridge Records, Bee Side Cassettes, and Pleasure Tapes, finds the band making up for lost time with a swirling mix of ever expanding ideas, structures, and experimental pop songs that really knows no bounds.
Debbie Dopamine have been making their presence known with a shimmering intensity that produces unflinching insight into their world. On their new single "Worried," the band continue their propensity for deep diving into emotions only to come out the other side with a steely strength and empowerment that continues to bloom.
Directed by Jen Meller, the video accompanies the storming tenacity and aggressive attitude that pours forth from the roaring beast that is Nihiloceros. The band have been treading their path in the NYC punk/underground scene for close to a decade now and haven't lost any of their bite and hostility as the track makes patently clear.
With Verity Den’s record out now (via Amish Records), the band are getting ready to hit the road together, supporting Rosali, but before they do, they’ve shared “Live at Nightlight”. The live performance video captures the band playing both “Priest Boss” and “Prudence,” a pair of songs that highlight the different sides of their sound.
It’s been nearly five months since their last album, so naturally the Mason City based quartet are getting ready to release a new album, Serenading Unwanted Ballads, due out March 22nd via Feel It Records. Their latest is primarily split between balls-to-wall grooves and reverberating romanticism, but the record acts as a sonic grab bag of ideas.
While it’s been a couple years since their last record, Wallplant, now a full band, are out there doing their thing, creating bent lo-fi post-punk and power-pop that feels animated, alien, and incessant. The recently filmed Live at Jamdek session captures the band in the studio, working through songs old and new.
“Bare Minimum” is a loud, somber track with introspective lyrics highlighting the moment you knew you could and should be better. Self-awareness is the central thread that lingers throughout the song with lines like, “I look for loops of applause for doing the bare minimum” and “giving myself the space to pity the person I helped myself become.”
The Wisconsin based trio - comprised of Bobby Hussy, Tyler Spatz, and Hart Alan Miller - are no strangers to the world of DIY punk, but with their latest project they’re blurring the lines and creating their own boundaries, taking equal parts sinewy post-punk and corrosive artistic grunge, and then flipping it all on its head.
DRILL return with Permanent, their first (and unfortunately last) full length, but they’re not going quietly into the good night. Animated and agitated, the trio - Sonam Parikh (vocals, keys), Gavin Perez-Canto (drums), and Nina Ryser (bass, vocals), continue to craft songs with a charming sort of irreverence, creating post-punk as minimal as it is vibrant.
BALACLAVA originally started as a solo of Dylan Joyce aka BALA, but has now become a five-piece live band based in Ridgewood, Queens. The looming question that they seek to answer is, “What does animated trash sound like?” Their EP, THE 1/4 INCH ALMANAC, is out March 1st with tapes via Orlando based label Godless America.
Al Harper has been a part of the San Francisco DIY scene for years now, often working with noisy lo-fi projects like Tony Jay and Eternal Drag. She’s set to follow up here solo debut with The Analemma Observation League, due out February 23 via Take a Turn Records, and she just shared the second single “Plaster of Paris.”
Last year saw the release of You Can Do It All, introducing Cusp to a wider audience, the songs equal parts muscular and gorgeous, heartfelt but heavy. Everything about it was well-crafted, Jen Bender’s memorable songwriting the spark. That spark grows ever brighter on Thanks So Much, due out March 15th, a triumphantly defining moment.
The NYC super crew are back with their first full length in six years. Zenith No Effects is out May 10 via Gentle Reminder, Home Late, and Intellectual Birds Records. “Play it Cool,” is a tense and subdued number a few simmering moments from boil. It never quite bubbles over, leaving the listener with a collage of agitation and unease.
