Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia and composed of members Daniel DeSimone (Bass, vocals, synths), Connor Ray (guitar, vocals, synths, piano), Josh McIntyre (guitar) and Sasha Schilbrack-Cole (drums, vocals), Malevich are an artistic pushback against a world desensitised. Taking their namesake from Russian artist Kazimir Malevich and taking inspiration from his work exploring abstractionism as a counter to authoritarianism, whilst it would be easy to describe Malevich via the means of increasingly faded genre tags, to do so would contradict the ethos of this band entirely.
Instead, what Malevich do is subvert what is expected from an amalgamation of black metal, post metal and the kind of pioneering screamo synonymous with bands such as Envy and Pg. 99. Yes, it’s a visceral sound, one that triggers a reaction, but one that’s beautiful and genuine. Instead of the tired gimmicks one would maybe anticipate from such genres, there is only chemistry and a real, palatable sense of urgency to create something true, honest and authentic. Their last EP Trembling and Dowsed was a great example of this, but their forthcoming record Under a Gilded Sun and new single ‘Into Bliss’ – premiering below – proves such a sentiment wonderfully.
Released August 22nd via Church Road Records, Under a Gilded Sun is an authentically challenging experience for an age where most just wish to be narcotised by AI generated slop. It’s a reaction to how community is shunned in favour of isolation, to how content has replaced art and how an actual genocide is being shrugged off by those witnessing it in real time. A charred and ashen outpouring of grief over a world and societal system that has forgotten it’s priorities and how to even act as a collective system all together. The aforementioned ‘Into Bliss’, which follows on from previous single ‘Blossom In Full Force’ makes all of this palatable, and serves as a wonderful lead into a record that’s musically traumatic, but thematically hopeful for change through the power of collectiveness.
With Under a Gilded Sun released next month, and with us premiering ‘Into Bliss’ just below, we got in touch with Daniel to know more about Malevich, the upcoming record, and their ethos.
We make weird heavy music for the end of the world.
Musically we are excited by the idea of art that challenges your assumptions about a genre. All of our favorite bands are bands that continuously reinvent themselves and challenge their fans’ expectations of what they ‘are’, or even joyously disrespect their genre. Artists like Thou, Sumac, Altar of Plagues, Swans, Oneohtrix Point Never, Bjork… But we always love a big fucking riff.
Topically we explore the existential weight of living in a time and place where you are constantly inundated with the reality of violence and exploitation; the feeling of opening your phone and seeing videos of children being starved and murdered contrasted with advertising slop and absurdist AI content. The constant whiplash of trying to hold a brighter view of the future despite overwhelming pressure to fall into apathy and nihilism.
1) It sounds cool and it’s hard to come up with band names.
2) The band agrees with one of his most core philosophies: “the supremacy of pure artistic feeling”; that art doesn’t need to justify itself to exist, and that art has value as a fundamental part of human existence. Many contemporary scholars consider him to have been an anarchist. We resonate with a view of the world that is fundamentally anti-authoritarian and pro-creativity.
3) Look up Malevich’s ‘Black Square’. It’s metal as fuck.
This was a really fun and challenging track to write. Half accidental and half an intentional paring back of the role of the guitar in the composition. We were playing around with some stems our bassist and our friend Terence ‘Murk Daddy Flex’ Chiyezhan freaked beyond recognition and accidentally played a ton of them at the same time. It was sick. From there we tuned to double drop F# and finally got stupid enough to write good music.
The lyrics are about the importance of connection with community despite the fact that connection inherently brings pain. We tapped our friend Lex from Sunrot to add his voice and lyrics to the song, and his contribution really tied the lyrical themes together and made the song feel complete.
Under a Gilded Sun by Malevich
With this record we wanted to fully integrate electronics, textures, and non-standard instrumentation while leaning more into melody that has been buried or even stifled in our previous writing. We set out with the goal of taking our music from a collection of disparate references to bands we like, to a fully developed and cohesive sound. We have never felt particularly constrained by genre, but there is always a fear of creating something that doesn’t have a clarity of voice. We took extra care to make sure the movement away from dissonance for its own sake towards clarity and melody didn’t feel outside of the world we had previously created, it was very important that the record flowed smoothly between tonal shifts while not losing urgency and aggression.
It’s been awesome. It means a lot to us that Sammy and Justine are human beings who play in a band and who are excited about the project. We have heard horror stories from our friends in bands who have signed to labels and got buried in the roster or treated like a number on a spreadsheet. We appreciate that CR intentionally set out to work with bands that are challenging, and sit at interesting intersections of genres. That said, the real reason for us signing with CR is because we were able to stipulate in our contract the express delivery (international) of a monthly full English breakfast for 4 and a bottle of Buckfast. Also Employed to Serve has the riffs.
We hope that listening to the album leaves you with a nugget of hope even in the face of overwhelming trauma. Thanks for listening. Free Palestine.
We had brat summer; now it’s time for queercore fall. Death Goals just dropped a lashing new single called ‘Tchotchke’, featuring Jenna Pup from The Hirs Collective. It’s a sneak peek of their upcoming EP, Survival Is An Act of Defiance, which will be out on August 29th. Guitarist Harry Bailey describes Tchotchke as a song that is “about the queer experience of being fetishised by members of the heterosexual community; the casual ‘harmless’ flirtation of a drunk straight friend, or the anonymous message on social media recounting all the sordid ways they’ve thought about you that evening. Queer people don’t exist to be objects of lust; we deserve love just as much as anybody else.” Tchotchke goes hard, thanks to the impressive breakdowns that capture the bleak state of the world. Fortunately, we have Death Goals to express it for us. Be sure to mark your calendars for queercore autumn – you won’t want to miss this. – Nessie Spencer
After taking some time away, Alpha Make Tea Party are more storming the beaches than just scuttling back with ‘Battle Crab’. A most pinching and piercing track, ‘Battle Crab’ see’s the scouse math rockers return after a five year break with a vocal driven track dissecting nightlife violence and those kind of men who’s go to night cap is a drunken brawl. Yes, the addition of vocals may make some clutch their briny pearls, but if anything, such an addition only adds to the heft to this track. They may have been gone for half a decade, but Alpha Male Tea Party are back with an appetite only rivalled by those beasties that may or may not have eaten Amelia Earhart. – Dan Hillier
Thrice may have indulged everyone’s penchant for nostalgia by revisiting 2003’s The Artist In The Ambulance just recently, but to dub them as just another naughties band desperately stuck in the past would be nigh on criminal. ‘Gnash’ proves this wonderfully. Taken from their upcoming record Horizons / West – released October 3rd via Epitaph Records – ‘Gnash’ see’s the ever influential alt-rock quartet further pushing their sound without compromising that dichotomy between introspection and confrontation that made them just so brilliant in the first place. Gnarled, rugged and driven by an effects-soaked stomper of a riff, the track just effortlessly bites into that sense anxiety fulled anger we’re all feeling across the world right now. – Dan Hillier
New Cheerbleederz single ‘I Deserved Better’ is a scathing, yet catchy two minutes of power pop and garage rock-influenced riffs and a production style that blends their polished musicianship with traditional DIY components. Clocking in at just over two minutes, this Alcopop! Records supergroup and trio have perfectly crafted memorable hooks since 2018 courtesy of Kathryn Woods, (Fresh) Phoebe Cross, (ME REX, Happy Accidents) and Sophie MacKenzie (Supermilk) and Kathryn’s second-guessing, yet strong, feminism-influenced lyrics have struck a chord with many. After touring with the likes of Lakes and Fresh and setting off on a headline tour in September, the only way is up for Cheerbleederz. – Ez Luscombe
Wot Gorilla? returned in June with ‘Very Good,Daniel!’ A track of emphatic math execution with post-hardcore edge to make the band feel at home alongside UK rising stars Love Rarely and Blight Town. Latest single ‘Doomscrolling’ sees them twist and turn with the precision of American Football seeing them seamlessly slip into a delicate and melancholic glide across the math rock spectrum. Holding emotional delicately in the palm of its hands, angelic vocal harmonies climb upon one another piggy backing its way into the songs post-hardcore culmination showing the bands time away has been a fruitful hibernation of artistic discovery. The return of Wot Gorilla? feels effortless and one where their experience will lead them beyond being an underrated band into an undeniable force in a scene which goes from strength to strength. – Andy Calderbank
Hot on the heels of first single ‘Descartes’, Irish post punks Sprints have unveiled a double single from their upcoming second album, All That Is Over out 26 September. ‘Rage’ imbues their already formidable sound with a dose of garage rock, barrrelling along just under 3 minutes. ‘Beg’ contrasts it, at least initially, a laconic vocal line and pulsating synths lulling into a false sense of security before the song picks right back up where ‘Rage’ left off in intensity. The former calls out “false prophets and false promises” as guitarist/vocalist Karla Chubb explains, while ‘Beg’ “pokes fun at the idea that often it’s those in positions of power that preach their moral codes and judgments, while committing the most heinous crimes themselves.” – Will Marshall
A product of the ever-fertile creative lands of Yorkshire and previously gigging under the delightfully kitsch name of Japanese Racoon Dog, Patience are simply one of those bands that harbour a rare sense of talent that’s at odds with their young age. Yes, it’s true that such a hyperbolic statement has been applied to countless emerging acts over the years. But given how Patience are quickly raising eyebrows to new heights across the math rock and post hardcore scene with their recently released debut EP Third Time Lucky, such a sentiment would be hard to argue against.
Released independently back in April, this EP sounds like a lot of things. Firstly, it sounds like a wonderful mix of all the best bits to be offered up by the math rock, emo and post hardcore genres. The technicality of the likes of Pool Kids and Love Rarely is evident, a sense of grandiosity reminiscent of that of Holding Absence is apparent, but a grounded nature synonymous of the band’s native emo scene counteracts such a loftiness. Secondly, it sounds like a release from a band already years to their career. There’s none of the avoid kinks or sound searching one would expect from a debut EP – just the sound of a collaborative project that know what they want to sound like, and how to present it. Such an absolutely brilliant combination has allowed Patience to recently perform alongside the likes of Totorro, Slung and Delilah Bon, appear at events like Strangeforms and swiftly become one of the most promising bands in the UK math rock scene.
With that in mind, and with Third Time Lucky out now, we got in touch with the band to get acquainted.
To those new to Patience we’d describe the band as a math rock infused emo band with catchy vocal melodies, twinkly guitars and huge drums.
Musically we draw inspirations from a wide variety of artists including – Holding Absence, Paramore, Pool Kids, Sweet Pill to name a few, and are inspired massively by production elements of bands such as Dayseeker and Biffy Clyro. There are a lot more artists to be named as we all have such different individual music tastes but these are just some of the main few when it comes to the initial phases of the writing process. Lyrically our inspirations are mainly related to and are based on previous or on-going life experiences and addressing past situations for our vocalist, for example our song ‘I’ll Be Fine’ is a song written around living with anxiety, stage fright and using music as an outlet.
Few bands have the immense alternative pedigree of progressive metal and post-hardcore supergroup Vower. Bringing together members of underground darlings like Black Peaks, Palm Reader and Toska, the five-piece have spent the last year perfecting their live show at festivals such as 2000 Trees, Arctangent and Download in support of the debut EP Apricity. The supergroup’s latest single ‘Moth Becomes The Flame’ takes the band in a new direction with a less intense, more dramatic post-hardcore sound led by Josh Mckeown’s vocals which build from a subtle whisper to an exaggerated scream over a varied backdrop of gentle keys and distorted riffs. While Vower will always be compared to the members’ previous bands, ‘Moth Becomes The Flame’ shows a new, more nuanced side to their sound, relying less on guitar theatrics and more on deep, thoughtful songwriting. – Tom Bruce
Deftones are back, baby. The Sacramento legends released ‘my mind is a mountain’ on July 11th, which also coincides with Chi Cheng’s birthday, and it’s already generating buzz this summer. While reactions have been mixed—especially regarding the unique mixing style by Nick Raskulinecz, who previously did wonders on Koi No Yokai and Diamond Eyes —many fans appreciate how both familiar and refreshing this song feels. This track highlights Chino Moreno’s powerful vocals, capturing the delicate subject of mental health struggles with intensity. Meanwhile, Abe Cunningham’s thunderous drums and Stephen Carpenter’s riffs provide the abrasiveness and catharsis needed to make it truly impactful, all while being catchy. Though it’s still early to declare it the album of the year, the track shows a lot of promise and is sure to be a crowd favorite at their upcoming shows in Europe in early 2026. – Nessie Spencer
In a world of gimmick-clad slop designed purely to appeal to algorithms, ‘Trainers’ is the sound of something unprecedented; actual human interaction. Sounding like a group of friends writing music a room void of all the ills of the sad state of the music industry, ‘Trainers’ see’s rising outlanders They Are Gutting A Body of Water offering brilliant contemporary shoegaze untainted by the commercialisation plaguing the genre. There’s nothing here designed to cater to AI models or the like, just pure musical chemistry that invites in the weirdness synonymous with both the human condition and this genre of music. – Dan Hillier
Rising stars in the hardcore scene Drain have been blowing up since the release of their second album Living Proof in 2023. Continuing to tease their upcoming third release ...Is Your Friend with new single ‘Stealing Happiness From Tomorrow’. Starting with a gnarled bass groove that will stoke the mosh pits flames before unleashing pure crossover chaos and bringing the live-wire energy we’ve come to know and love. Still sticking with personal and relatable lyricism that reflects on personal circumstances, this is empowerment hardcore at its finest. There are still plenty of nasty beat breaks brakes for flailing limbs and spin kicks, swaying from lower tempo grooves into high octane fury. The mid-song tom break and bite size guitar solo leads to the final vocal calls that are sure to lead to intense mic grabbing and one final breakdown to leave you slack jawed at the back of the room wondering when a fist may collide with the side of your head. – Harry Shiels
One of the UK’s most exciting young rock bands, five-piece Mother Vulture have spent close to a decade building on their classic rock inspired yet modern and aggressive sound, paying homage to the icons of the past without letting themselves get pidgeonholed as a tribute act. Alongside the news that their next album Cartoon Violence will drop in January of next year, the south-west quintet have let loose their latest single ‘Treadmill’, a stomping, punk inspired rock track which draws just as much from danceable rockabilly as it does from mosh-ready thrash metal. Frontman Georgi Valentine Ivanov’s screeching vocals set the band apart, sounding more like Mike Patton or Greg Puciato than David Bowie, scaring off the battle vest clad pensioners looking for the next retro throwback. – Tom Bruce
Wading in the waters of unconditional freedom Pile share the final track from 9th studio album Sunshine and Balance Beams. In ‘Bouncing in Blue’ the constant pulse of expectation gives way to somber ambience with Rick Owens quiet contemplation on control and certainty blossoming into ascension as Pile display even after 15 years their melancholic noise amalgamations have never felt so fleshed out and full of exuberant life. ‘Bouncing in Blue’ is a demonstration of ultimate surrender to forces far beyond human understanding as the unmistakable pounding drums and the blackhole of fuzz drowned guitars takes your hand out into unknown waters.To celebrate the new album Pile give you ample opportunity to experience them in 2025 with a 22 date UK/EU Tour, so participate and attempt to understand a generational band who do noise, indie and post-hardcore like no other. – Andy Calderbank
Math rock, emo, and pop-influenced quartet Pool Kids’s single ‘Leona Street’ is taken from third album Easier Said Than Done and seems a lot more pop-oriented compared to their past singles, but their DIY ethic, love of twinkly guitars, and frontwoman Christine Goodwyne’s introspective and lyrical storytelling still shines through and makes for an enjoyable and summery listen. Pool Kids have clearly come a long way since their 2019 debut and after being signed to the iconic Oxford indie label Big Scary Monsters, touring with the likes of The Wonder Years and La Dispute, and being endorsed by queen of emo Hayley Williams; it’s safe to say that it’s an exciting time to be a Pool Kids fan. – Ez Luscombe
Bleak has just released their brand new single, appropriately titled ‘Bleak’ from their debut EP, also called Bleak. To make things even more exciting, the up-and-coming deathcore band secured a guest appearance from Chad Kapper of Frontierer. Don’t let the fun coincidences mislead you, though; this track is absolutely wild. It features some of the most intense breakdowns reminiscent of the best work from The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, while also capturing the raw violence and harshness that defines their sound. The band describes their music as “us screaming into the Void and hearing it scream back.” If the future appears bleak, I hope it sounds like this band. We’ll have to wait until August 28th to find out. – Nessie Spencer
Trailblazers of the US fourth-wave emo and post-emo scene Hot Mulligan return with an angry, soul-bearing banger of a new single ‘Prototheme’ which showcases the gut wrenching harsh vocals of frontman Nathan “Tades” Sanville and the mathy quality of Ryan “Spicy” Malisci’s riffs during the breakdown in just over two minutes of unadulterated feroctiy. Despite ‘Prototheme’ having a less radio-friendly sound than their previous releases and being a departure from their more pop-punk oriented sound, the sheer emotion behind the track really shines through and is reminiscent of a more DIY sound. Hot Mulligan clearly put music for themselves and that’s highly admirable. – Ez Luscombe
President Richard Nixon once famously said “when The President does it, it’s not illegal”. Replace ‘The President’ with ‘The Acacia Strain‘ and ‘illegal’ with ‘cringe’ and you’ve got a good idea of what to expect with this new rager from the deathcore legends. Opening with an almost poetic callout line of “if you get to heaven and you don’t find me there, you are in hell”, the band wastes no time getting into some meaty riffs peppered with spicy drum fills and a plethora of howls. Short, violent and straight to the point, ‘A Call Beyond’ is clearly written less as a sophisticated piece of art and more as an incitement to violence in the pit. This new song proves that The Acacia Strain guys definitely haven’t lost a step over their long and heavy tenure. – Jude Bennett
Still in Love are at their bone shredding best, with drums in the throes of a stampede and a visceral and raw vocal performance to leave you on bed rest. Inherit is a metallic hardcore stomp through the recesses of human trauma, pulling up the earth in search of the root of toxic behaviour and breaking cycles which feel doomed to be repeated for generations. Taken from debut album Recovery Language out September 5th on Church Road Records it brings back the melodic hardcore vulnerability of Landscapes with the fire and fury of modern metallic hardcore and with a tour lined up this July/August you are presented with a glowing opportunity to experience Recovery Language before it reaches the masses. – Andy Calderbank
Taken from her upcoming August release Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, second single ‘Fuck Me Eyes”’is a more electronically-tinged release than previous Americana single ‘Nettles’ but it still remains lush in production with a continuous melodic synth line reminiscent of the glossy production of American 1980’s pop, brilliantly distorted drums, and Cain’s expert and lyrical storytelling still shines through and leaves a personal impact as always. Telling the story of a popular girl who is clearly the envy of her classmates and the envy that Cain evokes in her lyricism in just six epic minutes. – Ez Luscombe
Essex death metallers/deathcore upstarts Beyond Extinction have carved a swathe of destruction through the UK underground over the past few years, including a thunderous set at the inaugural Noizzefest. That still won’t prepare you for the sheer bludgeoning, wanton fury of ‘Where They Gather’, their brand new single and title track from the long-awaited upcoming debut album. It’s very much rooted in their experiences of the last few years, taking a misanthropic lens to humanity and the idea of modern progress and society. Toilet noise maker Jasper Harmer explains, “‘Where They Gather’ is anchored to a groove-heavy arsenal of riffs that carries much of the song’s weight, being supported by speed and precision in its more surgical elements. The deep tuned guitars are allowed to swing open and wide in this track and fully display how low and sickening this album gets. The misery and chaos of the city centred in the album’s story is portrayed by this track through an autopsy of heavy organs.” – Will Marshall
A seemingly ever-relevant song reimagined for a time saturated by ceaseless violence, Lamb of God’s cover of this Sabbath classic is as poignant reminder of our collective tendency for self-destruction. Dropping just hours after it was debuted by Lamb of God at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning event, this cover see’s the Virginia bruisers only adding more charge, venom and acid to a track that shocked everyone upon it’s original release back in 1971. Be it a celebration of the history of metal or a timely reminder of the violence inherent to man, this cover couldn’t have come at a more suitable time. – Dan Hillier
Documenting the depressing grind that is simply for the weekend, the new single from Salisbury indie punks Carsick is a bouncy little tune born from both existentialism and perpetual hangovers. Taken from their upcoming EP Tough Luck – released September 5th via Alcopop! Records – ‘Backseat’ takes a cynical look on our national drinking culture and it’s correlating link to the pressures late stage capitalism. It’s a grim subject, but one animated wonderfully by Carsick’s wit and charm. “British culture has always encouraged giving your entire week to work and then spending every last bit of your wage packet at the pub once Friday hits”, state the band on the track. “It’s easy to put your life into autopilot and endlessly repeat that cycle without realising it’s become a downward spiral. Sounds bleak, but luckily we’ve condensed that existential crisis into a catchy summer banger for you.” – Dan Hillier
The fourth record from the Watford six-piece, this album is a product of a good few things. The records that came before it, an aim to create music that truly mirrors the emotions that led to it’s creation and a new collectively shared mantra of ‘if it sounds good, then it’s good’. All of this has led to Slow Fade, a record that is without question the most accomplished concise release from the band thus far and a release radiant with charm.
Whilst still inherently an emo record, to dub a genre tag on Slow Fade and be done with it would be something of a great disservice. Whilst the record still retains all the well expressed math rock, post rock and indie motifs that made their previous records just so engaging and brilliant, here, Lakes broaden their horizons. With a greater focus on pacing and dynamics, Lakes incorporate an array of new instrumentalism into their sound whilst pushing the envelope on what modern day emo can sound like. The end result is a wonderful record, one that see’s Lakes widening their musical vocabulary in order to articulate their charming and intricate craft with more charisma.
With Slow Fade out today via Lucky Art in collaboration with Big Scary Monsters, got in touch with vocalist Roberto Cappellina to break down the record, track by track.
