The latest single from their forthcoming debut The Live Long After, ‘Shouting Judas At Bob Dylan’ shows Sugar Horse‘s knack for marrying doom, shoegaze and elements of hardcore into an enthralling combination. Opening with shouts and grinding, serpentine guitars, it bludgeons and batters. Frantic drums and desperate yells suddenly stop, a quiet passage lulling into a false sense of security before sung vocals croon atop the same fast-paced drumming. Their ability to shift seamlessly from quieter passages to the louder moments – which are just as varied in themselves – gives it an entrancing quality. Despite describing themselves as “decidedly average”, Sugar Horse continue to prove that they’re anything but that. – Will Marshall
To say Thrice are influential and revered doesn’t really do them justice; their take on post-hardcore laid the blueprint so many bands have followed over the years and their Alchemy Index albums saw them bring a more experimental side of themselves to the fore. Following on from ‘Scavengers’, their latest single ‘Robot Soft Exorcism’ sees them channel their inner Radiohead. It’s a more relaxed, but still unsettling experience. It opens with electronics and is built around arpeggiated guitar lines with a towering chorus. On the song’s name, the band explain “The track’s title may sound familiar to those who are aware of David Dark. The American author and teacher coined the term in a Twitter thread, exploring a metaphor in an attempt to help us distinguish between harmful and destructive systems and those that inhabit and benefit from them.” – Will Marshall
Not merely content to release some of the summer’s best songs with their previous singles, ‘FLY AGAIN’ shows Turnstile taking a more straightforward rock path that’s no less expansive or anthemic than before. A dramatic piano introduces the song before launching full throttle into a groovy riff guaranteed to get heads bobbing and fill rock club dancefloors – especially when the chorus hits. No less mammoth than their other choruses, its repeated shouts then give way to a short guitar break and we move back to a verse that’s just as likely to inspire mass singalongs live. It stands in stark contrast to earlier singles like ‘ALIEN LOVE CALL’ and clearly shows just how varied and engaging their forthcoming third album, Glow On, is sure to be. – Will Marshall
Not merely content to blow everyone away with the incendiary ‘In The Court Of The Dragon’, Floridian metallers Trivium announced their tenth studio album and its next single, ‘Feast Of Fire’. The video was filmed in their brand new practice space – an old aircraft hangar, of all things – and the song itself is every bit as catchy as its predecessor. A serpentine bassline underpins riffing that wouldn’t be out of place on Silence In The Snow with a chorus that soars like the titular dragon. It’s a more pared-back affair than the previous single which serves to underscore Trivium‘s versatility and range. Giving an insight into the song and their writing process, bassist Paolo Gregoletto had this to say: “There’s always that one song you aren’t expecting when you begin writing a new album. It could be a riff written on the spot in the rehearsal space, a lyric that pairs just right with a melody, or in the case of Feast of Fire, sitting right there in front of us in the middle of a demo that Corey brought in. We were well into pre-production at [recording studio] Full Sail when we all decided that something about the demo we had tracked was good but could be even better. Our producer Josh Wilbur even had in his notes: ‘Bridge is special, maybe so special it needs its own song.’ We tore the song apart and began again on the spot.” – Will Marshall
New single, new vocalist, new groovy video. Following on from the departure of Janey Starling back in May, London feminist punk icons Dream Nails have returned with ‘Take Up Space’, the groups first single with Leah Kirby fronting the fold. An empowering endeavour that sees the band dipping their toes into the sun-blessed waters of classic 80’s surf punk, ‘Take Up Space’ is a track that perfectly summarises the groups rage-joy vitality whilst imploring women and LGBT+ to retake their space within cis-male dominated environments. Dream Nails will be finally taking taking their 2020 self-titled debut on tour next month and there’s absolutely no question that this will be a set highlight for years to come. – Dan Hillier
An intricately textured weave of abrasion, radiance and delicate mysticism, the latest single from the Belgian shoegazers Slow Crush certainly lives up to it’s namesake with it’s ability to force one into a docile state. The first single from the globally renowned group’s second album – which releases October 22nd via Church Road – the titular track ‘Hush’ is a gorgeous and spellbinding enchantment of a track that hints towards the blanketing tonal dalliance of the new record. Recorded at the utmost peak of the pandemic, Slow Crush’s next body of material is composed of some of their most darkest and perturbed work to date, yet stands as a vessel of elation and hope. It’s set to emit the optimism that fuelled the creation of their new record, and if ‘Hush’ is anything to go by, it’s on path to be another impeccable release from a band with a perfect track record. – Dan Hillier
Blackglaze may be all the rage these days – for perfectly understandable reasons – but the Russian trio TRNA have already distanced themselves from the pack. Muck akin to their last single ‘Shining’, the vast expansiveness of ‘Istok’ is blackgaze at it’s most celestial and otherworldly, with the track visiting a plethora of regions across it’s eight minute run time. Elements of Wolves In The Throne Room, Wowod, Amenra, MØL and Slowdive take form in the musical mist, but as a whole, this is a mystical black of the band’s own vision. TRNA will be releasing their new record on September 3rd via the fabled Candlelight Records and make no mistake for it’s set to be one of the greatest contemporary blackgaze achievements of 2021. – Dan Hillier
Providing a haywire, self-aware and humorously insightful take on a genre sometimes perceived as stoic and indulgent, Bicurious have held a clear identity ever since their respective early days. As presented on their first string of singles and their 2018 extended play – the suitably titled I’m So Confused – the two-piece harbour a remarkable penchant for playfully rearranging the tropes of the post-rock genre into danceable melodies and snaring hooks. But even with the group’s work fully leaning into the adolescent and mercurial energy of bands such as Cleft, Alpha Male Tea Party and Gangs era And So I Watch You From Afar, their work has always had a composed focus on highlighting societal injustices in Ireland and afar. It’s been this fervent sense of dynamism that’s allowed the group to become such a celebrated component of the European post-rock scene in such a short amount of time, with the band raking up the Spotify streams by the millions in just a few years.
With this in mind, it’s no real wonder why everyone is celebrating their debut LP. Recorded and written over the span of two years, the independently released (re)constructed is the full Bicurious experience compressed into 47 minutes of hyperactivity. A record of gulfing grooves and sugar fuelled bounce, whilst it may appear to some as a record of just energizing mania, there’s profound meaning under it’s giddy guise. In fact, the record chronicles the recent life changing events faced by the two members. Firstly, it musically depicts the bout of severe psychosis suffered by Gavin Purcell (drums), and secondly, it narrates Taran Plouzané’s (guitars) experiences in becoming a father to son Erza at the young age of 23. These experiences are articulated with musical charisma and make their debut such a human, curious and essential listen.
So with the record out now independently, we got in touch with Purcell and Plouzané to break down (re)constructed, track by track.
Related: Bicurious – (re)constructed | Album Review
Gavin: “This song was originally just going to be the sample on it’s own, but we realised that was kinda unsettling to listen to…so we decided to add music to it.”
Taran: “The music was actually the bridge section of another song I was working on at the time, but wasn’t really working as a full song. One day we just played that section by itself, and had a lightbulb moment.”
Gavin: “The sample is based on a mixture of voices I heard during the psychotic episode I had in 2018, which the album is based around, along with the birth of Tarans son Ezra. The inspiration for that sample was influenced by Girl Band’s track ‘Prolix’. I heard in an interview that the breathing on Prolix was captured during a panic attack. I then thought it would be interesting to recreate the voices that I heard in my head, because for me hearing voices was a very similar experience to having a very long panic attack.”
Taran: “And that sample actually has my son Ezra crying on it, as well as my wife Tara speaking German, but reversed. As well as some other stuff. When it comes to recording in the studio, it was the only song we hadn’t fully written before going in. I purposely left the lead guitar parts unwritten until the day I had to record them, as I thought it might be cool to let myself be inspired by the recording process, the studio, and the whole experience. And it was a great idea! It was a lot of fun, as pretty much everything else was already written, and we knew exactly what we wanted to do before we went in.”
Gavin: “Even though this was my third psychotic episode I feel like I’ve changed a lot and am more mindful after that particular episode… For the better. So this song is about what we “used to” be like and what our lifestyles were like and how they have changed since that particular psychotic episode and the birth of Ezra.”
Taran: “Yeah, to me it’s really down to the mood of the song. The opening section is quite dance-y, I could imagine it being played in a nightclub or something, if our parts were played by synths and drum machines. That’s why this song reminds me of what we used to do and how we used to live; not that we spent a lot of time in nightclubs, but I’m talking about the nightlife, pubs, gigs, drinking, late nights, etc. I do a lot less of that nowadays (regardless of the pandemic) as I’ve become a dad, and any free time I have is either spent playing/writing music or hanging out with my family.”
“It was actually the first song to be written out of all of the album songs. We’ve been playing this one at shows for almost two years now, so it feels good to have it properly recorded.”
To say that expectations where lofty for this single would be a significant understatement, but Rivers Of Nihil have completely and utterly surpassed all hopes with this jaw-dropper of a track. The first track to be taken from their freshly announced record The Work, ‘Clean’ is anything but it’s namesake. Potentially up there as one the band’s most frontal offerings to date, this is a visceral showcase of Rivers Of Nihil’s unparalleled take on modern extreme metal, with elements of Between The Buried And Me, Fallujah and The Faceless being boiled down, distilled and then poured into their overflowing cauldron of sound. With the single showing the wide array of uniquely composed textures that play an integral role of the band’s sound, whilst attempting to top Where Owls Know My Name may be herculean effort indeed for the band, this new single shows that Rivers Of Nihil may do it with relative ease.
It feels like entire lifetime has passed since the discordant sibling duo Cassels released their last record The Perfect Ending in the tail end of 2019. But regardless, the malcontent and misanthropic brothers Beck are back with the first taste of their 2022 LP in the form of ‘Mr Henderson Coughs’. As anticipated and hoped, this is a coiled, cynical and deadpan barrage of angular and sinewy noise that perfectly continues the duo’s dynamic and unique take on contemporary punk, with the track narrating a particularly bad day in the life of the titular Mr Henderson. Brimming with tension and bound by the close chemistry of the duo, the track is a fantastic introduction to their next chapter as a band – and if anything else – makes you nervously reminiscence on the all the times you antagonised your GCSE history teacher.
The second track courtesy of the solo project from Wade McNeil of Alexisonfire and Gallows fame, ‘Psyche Hospital Blues’ encapsulates the emotional heft and heavy psychedelic tone of Dooms Children. An unflinching and unashamed documentation of Wade’s time in rehab and the pain that led to to that point, the release of the ‘Psyche Hospital Blues’ also coincides with the confirmation of the debut LP from the project. A self-titled endeavour, the record comes following an incredibly turbulent time for McNeil, with half the record being written during a time of darkness and the other half being written whilst the famed Canadian musician was receiving treatment for this issues at a rehabilitation centre. Set to be an intimate and deeply personal release that explores McNeil’s love for psychedelia and his experiences in a time of personal self-destruction, the album Dooms Children is set for release October 20th via Dine Alone Records and set to usher in a new chapter of McNeil’s already illustrious career.
Across their initial extended play Mourning Cloak and a selection of standalone singles, the Nottingham based group have marred the incendiary relentlessness of the black metal sound with motifs of poetic grace. Whilst these scorching barrages of dynamic and palpable fury served as the establishment of their sound and ethos, it feels like Underdark where simply laying the foundations for what was to succeed. Released today is Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry, the group’s debut full length and their all annihilating mission statement as a musical collective.
Composed of five sprawling tracks, Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry see’s Underdark magnificently showcasing their most accomplished work to date. Whilst the record as a whole leans into the barbed rawness and ferocity that the black metal sound is stereotactically known for, it’s also a record of balance and composure, one that’s elegant in the way it incorporates moments of ethereal majesty. Yet, one of the best and most vital elements of this record is the way it uses it’s dynamic finesse to articulate it’s subject matters. Composed of deeply personal tales of struggle along with explorations of human exploitation in our fractured world, this is a deeply poignant record in terms of it’s lyrical contents.
With Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry out today via Surviving Sounds (UK), Through Love Records (EU) and Tridroid Records (US/CAN), we got in touch with vocalist Abi Vasquez to discover the meanings of the record, track by track.
Related: Underdark – Our Bodies Burned Bright On Re-Entry | Album Review
Danish blackgaze maestros MØL captured the hearts and minds of many with 2018’s debut Jord. Their captivating sound, a fusion of black metal’s aggression and the lush, mesmerising instrumentation of shoegaze, saw them sign to the illustrious Nuclear Blast Records for their recently-announced second album Diorama. The first single from it, ‘Photophobic’, sees them honing their beautiful but aggressive sound to a fine art. From its soft opening to the blastbeats that swiftly shatter this peace, through to the shimmering, ascendant shoegaze moments, it’s a stunning work of art. Of the single, vocalist Kim Son Sternkopf explains “‘Photophobic’ is centred around denial and self-deception. Fear of exposure of one’s past. The song encapsulates the dread of forcefully venturing through the painful but nonetheless important places of oneself and your history.” – Will Marshall
Returning with the follow up to their 2018 record Palms and their eleventh full length, the ever explorative Thrice are back in the spotlight with the confirmation of their new record Horizons / East. Showcasing a newfound sense of situational awareness, the record’s first single ‘Scavengers’ sees the California legends becoming aware of the toxic media diet that is perpetually poisoning the body and mind of those who feed upon it. A darker and more granulating affair that revolves around a shadowed groove, the track sees the band continuing down the same musical path the band tread with the release of the aforementioned Palms and their 2016 LP To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere, albeit with an intense scrutiny on the modern world. With the record releasing digitally September 17th and physically October 8th, Horizons / East is essentially set to be yet another piece of irrefutable proof of this band’s remarkable longevity. – Dan Hillier
Coinciding with the announcement of their signing to the rapidly up-and-coming Lockjaw Records, the dizzying alt-rock renegades El Moono are back with their new single ‘Forced To Smile’. Composed not entirely unlike an off-kilter mashup of Phoxjaw, Haggard Cat and modern day Press To Meco, this track is a bombastic condemnation of our government’s hideous attitude towards human rights and is delivered with hyperventilating energy and seething rage. “We’ve been sitting on this song in particular for over two years now and we’re so relieved and excited to finally be putting it out into the world. Since writing ‘Forced to Smile’, it feels as though the lyrics have come into sharper focus given the social/political landscape of the past year”, say the band. “The majority of Parliament have recently shrugged off the changing of vital laws that directly impact the LGBTQI+ community and how their gender/identification is legally recognised. This blatant dismissal of human rights is something we cannot accept in 2021 – ‘Forced to Smile’ is about not accepting our reality as ‘good enough’. The song also tackles the subject of toxic masculinity that is engrained deep into our society. Living day to day and forcing ourselves to be happy, forcing ourselves to smile, just to keep going. We dream to make a difference in whatever way we can.” – Dan Hillier
