THE NEW WHAT NEXT

PHOTO BY ELLIS MARTIN

BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

PHOTO BY FRANKX STUDIO

PHOTO BY KATRIN ALBERT

BODY DOUBLE BIKE THIEFS BOOTBLACKS

Hometown: Oakland, California Hometown: Toronto, Canada Hometown: New York, New York

Album: Milk Fed out now via Zum Album: Leaking out October 30 via Stomp Records Album: Thin Skies out October 9 via Artofact Records

RIYL: Plot Twists. Mutilation. Psychological Horror Films. RIYL: Butchered Plurals. The Maple Leafs. Mixtapes. RIYL: Crying on the Dancefloor. Empire State of Mind. The idea that you aren’t what you think you are is a central Good post punk sounds either urgent or weird. Great Neon. tenet in so many mysteries, thrillers, and horror fiction. post-punk aims to do both. Bike Thiefs take both extremes Despite the monochrome colors their name evokes, everyThe psychological terror that comes from the fear of the to the, uh, extreme by putting some of the oddest jams to thing about Bootblacks is beautifully colorful and resplenunknown and the sense of recognition clashing with new tape in recent memory. There’s this constant “off” quality dent. Their music brings visions of basement neon dance sensations can create a host of fun plot threads to play with. In that the band intentionally pursue, but it fucks with your clubs, where the lights are just low enough so that every a musical manner, that’s exactly what Body Double are able brain to create some of the most pleasing new wave-y dancer’s colorful outfit feels like a unique shade of grey. In to accomplish with their Siouxsie And The Banshees-like debut. sounds since the ’80s. Leaking is jam-packed with just so many ways, Bootblacks find unique and delightful ways In so many ways, Milk Fed is a pop album masquerading as a about every style of punk in the past four decades, but to both surprise and innovate. Rarely can a band combine weird new wave/goth/post-punk dreamscape (or is it the other in the careful Canadian hands of Bike Thiefs, the result ’80s synthpop, new wave, the best parts of U2, and modern way around?). There’s a push and pull, in the sense that these is beautifully cohesive. That emphasis on everything-but- house. Thin Skies is awash with this NYC mindset of knowing songs morph with your expectations, only to reveal unexpect- the-kitchen-sink dichotomy worked its way into the lyrics you are surrounded by so many people and massive ared beauty at each turn. That odd sense was the whole point. as well. chitecture that creates this liberating, unifying, yet lonely feeling. Vocalist Panther Almqvist concurs: “All the albums I love have pop songs, but the structures are “I like the thin veneer of reality, and just under that, mutilated enough and the references are diverse enough fiction. Leaking is what you get when you fall into a “It's a place where you're always visible and invisible at the that the end result is no longer a recognizable descendent hole of depression and addiction. It’s about fading same time. That is to say, you have to tread a lot of water of what came before,” vocalist and multi-instrumentalist relationships, self-harm, and agoraphobia, but it’s also here to stay above the surface. The city’s energy can just Candace Lazarou states. about hope, finding the good in people, compromise, carry you along or wash you out to sea. To exist here is and acceptance of both others and living through the to be fighting against that powerful tide. I think all New “But I don’t want people to just feel unpleasant and confused situation you’re in. The album is very suburban. I think Yorkers are shaped by that struggle, and that’s why you listening to Milk Fed. If they felt unpleasant the whole time, then there’s a lot of interesting, weird and ugly stuff — and don’t have to necessarily be born here to be a New Yorker, the uneasy listening sections would be less impactful. It’s much pretty stuff — in the suburbs,” notes guitarist and vocal- you just have to be dedicated to the city’s manic energy better to tell someone that they're safe in the first verse, and ist Marko Woloshyn. �� and your resilience to it. I think there is definitely some then say, ‘I lied, no such thing as safe,’ in the chorus.”�� frenzy and urgency in our music that’s gotten baked in from living in the city.” ��

PHOTO BY DEAN GORDON

CATHOLIC GUILT Hometown: Melbourne, Australia Album: This is What Honesty Sounds Like EP out now via Wiretap Records RIYL: Habits. Honesty. Hooks.

“I grew up in a Catholic family. I attended Catholic schools,” vocalist Brenton Harris notes. “To this day, I could probably recite the entire Mass from start to finish. I’m definitely not a practicing Catholic now, but that experience left me with a lot of cultural conditioning that is there for good. Some good, some bad, some in-between. The biggest of those, though, is definitely the omnipresent sense of wrongdoing that we call ‘Catholic guilt.’ That fucks you up.”

So, it’s no surprise that the band dabble in what they call “honest rock,” since they would probably have to recite a half-dozen Hail Marys if they did anything else. Jokes aside, Catholic Guilt’s latest batch of punk psalms really does perfectly mix punk, folk, and alt rock in a way that is immediate, heartfelt, and an excellent vessel for impressive sonic storytelling. The band do a better job than most priests’ homilies of hitting home with relatable messages that ring true. Indeed, for lapsed Catholics looking for a new sense of community, Harris and company offer up quite the honest hook. ��

COLD YEARS Hometown: Aberdeen, Scotland Album: Paradise, out now via Inside Job/eOne RIYL: My Generation. Storytelling. Happy Endings.

There’s something about U.K. punk bands writing Springsteen rock that just clicks (see Deaf Havana), but Paradise really takes the cake in this genre that only exists in my mind. Few bands can meld punk mindsets, hooks screaming for stadium shows to happen again, and genuinely interesting songwriting the way that Cold Years can. There’s a clear disillusionment with the state of the world and the seemingly unending evils around us. However, Paradise revels in small victories that can keep even the most pissed off punks carry on. Whether it’s births, weddings, or rekindled friendships, celebrating individual moments is at the heart of what Cold Years offer. They are the beachside drink at dawn with friends – a moment to savor. Vocalist Ross Gordon shares more about the album: GARGOYL Hometown: Canada and Boston, Massachusetts Album: Self-titled out October 9 via Season of Mist RIYL: Twin Peaks Red Room. Drugs. Circuses.

Gargoyl feel like a Lovecraftian entity for a host of reasons, but chief among them is this idea that they are so overwhelming to experience. On paper, this blend of grunge, death, prog, jazz, and thrash should sound like Mr. Bungle, Alice In Chains, and Cynic. On the record, that’s sort of what’s happening, except there is so very much more. Rhythms and notes are swirling in harmonies and polyrhythms. The closest I can come to describing the experience is going on an acid trip at a ’70s traveling circus performance. The more you take in Gargoyl, the more beautiful and terrifying the experience. Meanwhile, the carnival barker is Luke Roberts’s haunting Layne Staley-evoking voice, telling emotionally wrecked tales that bring you one step deeper in. In short, if the Twin Peaks Red Room were a prog grunge band, it would sound like Gargoyl.

“I think we really wanted to capture the disillusionment with the generation we’ve grown up “I think music is always the most compelling when it can make you feel a variety of emotions at once,” in. My youth was deeply rooted in punk rock, and I think that’s finally surfaced on this record. guitarist Dave Davidson states. “But even though there are a wide range of dynamics and moods I wanted to convey the misery I was in at the time of writing it. Terrible relationship, career on the album, [I hope] that you feel the cohesion throughout the record as a whole. I appreciate overtaking my life, no money, a country in a mess. That feeling of wanting to break out and when a band is hard to label, so it was extremely important for the both of us to give Gargoyl its own find happiness. And I did. With everything we have now as a band, what I have personally, unique voice that was different from our other projects [Revocation, Ayahuasca]. I think the syntheand the incredible people I now have in my life. I found someone to share it with. I re-es- sis of those different elements creates a very unique musical atmosphere that can feel familiar but tablished friendships I thought were lost, and I get up every day excited to be alive!” �� also bizarre and unnerving.” ��

PHOTO BY DARREN PLANK PHOTO BY LOUIS KNIGHT

PHOTO BY FARRAH SKEIKY

ERA BLEAK KNOWSO PILAU

Hometown: Portland, Oregon Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio Hometown: Stuttgart, Germany

Album: Self-Titled out now via Dirt Cult Records Album: Specialtronics/Green Vision out now via Drunken Album: Pilau EP coming soon via Capsule Records

RIYL: Protests. Humor. Jam Bands. Sailor Records RIYL: Blenders. Moshing. Mayhem. Is it possible to have fun anymore? Can we experience joy RIYL: LeBron James. Hope. Mobilization. The funny part of the word “extreme” is how subjective it during a year with seemingly insurmountable mountains Sneakily, Cleveland has become somewhat of a hotbed is. When you’re an angry, Midwestern teenager, P.O.D. and of poo to climb over? When our era is as bleak as this, it’s for excellent punk, and the cream of the crop (the Polish MxPx sound like extreme noise to you and your parents. time to seek solace in the musical arms of a punk jam band. Boy?) are Knowso. This brand of know-it-alls specialize in For some of us, we choose to continue pushing to the A punk jam band? Doesn’t the very concept of righteously a frantic hybrid of oddball post-punk, melodic hardcore, edges of extremity, searching for a new boundary. Evenfurious punk seem antithetical to long-winded, drug-infused and another heaping serving of delightfully bizarre. While tually, a happy middle ground is found where excess and jam bands? Well, Era Bleak don’t really sound like a jam some bands get away with being weird by throwing in jar- accessibility are allowed to co-exist. While Pilau sound band–there’s is more of a mix of ’80s hardcore, post-punk, ringly catchy choruses, Knowso are instead imbued with nothing like what I listened to in middle school, there’s and doses of art punk. However, their sci-fi-tinged tales of the spirit of Devo. This is purposefully punchy and pecu- that sense of extremity that fuels this fiery EP. Most of these despair and paranoia were the result of a rather peculiar liar punk, and all the better for it. It doesn’t hurt that the eight songs hover around the one-minute mark, and all of songwriting process, as bassist Justin Schramer notes: band not only have something to say but have the wisdom them aim to stuff as many excellent ideas into 60 seconds to understand being angry isn’t enough anymore. Coming as humanly possible. The fact that the resulting tunes are “This band is funny in that we don’t write songs as much as we from the Rust Belt, there’s quite a bit of frustration spewing both tightly focused and astoundingly executed speaks to stumble into them. Each song is kind of a result of an ‘instant from the speakers during Specialtronics/Green Vision, as the band’s songwriting prowess and power. As guitarist jam’ session. I had never played bass in a band before. I’d bassist and vocalist Nathan Ward shares: Mough notes, this quality is part of the process. be so psyched the second I plug in, that I’d start playing right away. The next thing I know, everyone's playing, and “With our new songs we’ve been releasing, I’m trying to “Every musician will tell you they listen to a million bands, it sounds sick. The whole band just kicks in. Lyrics, beats, ev- translate apathy and hopelessness into direct calls to action and we're no different. Every week, I want to start a band erything. It’s wild. I think we have maybe two songs that were and being productive. I’m not sure if there’s enough room of a different genre. So, I guess we're figuring out a way to actually written whole before we were all in the room. We in society for another angry person yelling into the ether. do all that in one band without it sounding too inconsisjoke sometimes that we are really a jam band.” �� Environmentalism, racism, labor rights, income inequality … tent. However, it all revolves around the crust, grindcore, all this stuff needs to be met with action and mobilization.” �� and hardcore realm.” ��

REPTOID Hometown: Oakland, California Album:Worship False Gods out now via Learning Curve Records RIYL: Give The Drummer Some. Aliens. Beauty In Chaos. TEENAGE HALLOWEEN Hometown: Asbury Park, New Jersey Album: Self-titled out now via Don Giovanni RIYL: Costumes. Identity. Inclusivity.

Jordan Sobolew is clearly an alien. One listen to Worship False Gods will impress anyone Interesting and good aren’t always synonymous–there are a whole lot of bands that with even the faintest appreciation of noise rock or industrial. However, the more you listen are good but not interesting, and vice versa. Teenage Halloween are both immensely to Reptoid and realize this is one damn dude doing it all, you have no choice but to stand interesting and exceptionally good. Predominantly a queer-identifying band, their debut in awe. It’s not just the amount of chaos and noise contained within, it’s how cohesive and full-length is dripping with layers of subtext and musical density. Featuring a beautifully freaking catchy this record is. You won’t be surprised to learn that Sobolew is a drummer haunting album cover, Teenage Halloween wrestle with learning to define a true sense of by trade, as his kitwork is both impressive and immersive, but the rest of the resultant noise self, purpose, and working to make the world a better place. It’s also clever, pissed-off, and is no slouch either. In fact, Worship False Gods is one of the best records in recent memory, transgressive. Musically, lovers of gruff punk will be in heaven, but layers of ska, power pop, revealing a man possessed with an immense amount of talent. As someone who has been folk, and classic indie rock reveal themselves with subsequent listens. In both music and completely exhausted throughout the past few months, the amount of energy needed to do words, Teenage Halloween refuse to be categorized as anything other than what makes the this is insane. Sobolew, not surprisingly, is fueled by just that: band’s members happy. Thankfully, the results are astounding. Guitarist Luke Henderiks reflects on some of the record’s themes: “The goal in my music overall is to convey a large amount of energy and make the listener or observer feel that energy in a way that incites an energy within them. I don’t want to make “I am an emotional and sensitive person, so I am always writing down things. I kind of like to music that you can passively listen to in the background. It must demand your attention and leave the band to interpret how a song is going to go, I just write basic chords and words. in turn make you feel something as a result. The format that my music is truly meant for With this record, I genuinely want to talk about how we are all individual in our struggle and has always been the live performance. The excitement and thrill of playing in front of how the perception of others doesn’t matter to your true sense of self. I have always had an audience and creating a feedback loop of energy between myself and the audience intense trouble with self-esteem, so I hope this record gives people hope and purpose members is the main element that drives me to continue to make music.” �� during a really horrible time in this world.” ��

PHOTO BY BRANDON DAZA PHOTO BY GEORGIA MOLONEY

TITAN TO TACHYONS Hometown: New York, New York Album: Cactides out now via Nefarious Industries RIYL: Science Fiction. Surrealism. Jazz. TOMORROW’S RAIN Hometown: Tel Aviv, Israel Album: Hollow out now via AOP Records RIYL: Goths. Gothic. Matches Made in Heaven. YOURS TRULY Hometown: Sydney, Australia Album: Self Care out now via UNFD Records RIYL: Salutations. Zoom Hugs. Comfort Food.

In name, sound, and style, everything about Titan To Tachy- What’s more goth than goth? Goth metal influenced by ’80s Yours Truly are musical comfort food (but definitely not ons literally screams sci-fi, in the best ways possible. For goth rock. It’s like the perfect distillation of what made the junk food!) in a time when we need all the damn joy we starters, a Tachyon is a hypothetical particle that travels ’80s and ’90s so grim, but performed with authenticity and can get. Their brand of heavy, pop-punk feels indebted faster than light. Thus, it’s no surprise that these speedy little passion that can’t be faked. Most will take a look at the to the New Found Glory Easycore Family Tree. but these things are littered throughout science fiction (Watchmen, truly incredible guest list on Hollow (Arch Enemy, Rotting sonic apples have a sweet taste all their own. Indeed, Star Trek, Dune, etc.). Musically, there’s a pervasive eerie Christ, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Septicflesh, and so much of Self Care feels like an honest conversation quality to the wonderfully odd proceedings here. The trio’s more) and think Tomorrow’s Rain needed talent to buoy among friends, the kind that has been missing from our excellent pedigree (Imperial Triumphant, Gigan, John empty sonic vessels. However, that couldn’t be further lives since COVID started. Remember that warm and fuzzy Zorn, etc.) harness their ability to truly vibe off each other, from the truth. The pain, the aching for a better life that feeling in your soul when you could unwind and connect creating some of the smoothest long-form jazz metal in ages. is at the center of the best of the style is augmented with with people who just get you? Remember how fulfilled Thematically, while this is an instrumental work, it’s clear that music that will make even the most stoic among us turn and uplifted you felt? That’s the sensation that permeates Titan To Tachyons aimed to create compositions exploring into Niagara Falls. Vocalist Tishai Sweartz notes his inspi- every note of Yours Truly’s excellent debut. According to their favorite surreal and/or sci-fi worlds. Guitarist Sally ration for the album: vocalist Mikaila Delgado, that sentiment was intentional: Gates confirms that notion: “When we wrote Hollow, I had two important things in my “With Self Care a lot of it was the feeling. We really wanted “Musically, I wanted to create the visual worlds that inspired mind all the time: one was to be true to myself and to talk it to feel warm. That was the main idea for the album, was me, namely the unsettling and seemingly abstract surre- openly about my life. All lyrics are personal, all reflected to be something that gave you that virtual hug. Each song alities created by the likes of Lynch, Kubrick, Phillip K. Dick, my life. I don't write about other people. I don't write came to us a little bit differently, whether it would be some etc. Sci-fi storylines were often used as a device to map out about fiction or fantasy. I write about myself instead of lyrics or a chord progression. I think because a lot of the song-structures and dynamics, and I wanted to let those going insane. I create art because it saves my butt from songs came from different origins; that is also why they all ideas dictate where the music flowed, regardless of genre, falling into depression, so it was very important to talk have a different feeling.” �� timing, or whether something ‘fit’ or not.” �� openly from my heart.” ��