New Noise Magazine Issue #42

ISSUE 42

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FEAR OF A QUEER PLANET SCENE NOT HEARD RESONANT VOICES PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT THE NEW WHAT NEXT ANAAL NATHRAKH JESUS PIECE WISDOM IN CHAINS PARTY BANDS TOTAL PUNK

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ADOLESCENTS THE STORY SO FAR

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MURDER BY DEATH CHRISTIAN DEATH DOC NEW PROJECTS, FAMILIAR FACES LOUD AND GRIMY SPOTLIGHT DOWN BY LAW FOLK SPOTLIGHT THRICE EISLEY LIKE PACIFIC SUMAC PIG DESTROYER OTEP , SWINGIN UTTERS THE SHORTLIST ANALOG CAVE

THE STORY SO FAR COVER PHOTO BY ANJA PROUDFOOT ADOLESCENTS COVER ART BY CHRIS SHARY ADOLESCENTS FLEXI ART CONCEPT BY MICHELLE MARKS TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO BY MICHAEL THORN BAND - MODERN LIFE IS WAR

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE JOYS AND HEARTACHES THAT LIE AT THE INTERSECTION OF THE LGBTQIA COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD OF ALTERNATIVE MUSIC‌

PHOTO BY EVA MUELLER

ON GROWING OLDER Some people play in bands through their 20s, then they’re done and settle down with work, family, etc. As Wendy Case of Detroit’s Paybacks once said, “I’m a lifer.� I’ll keep playing music until I can’t anymore. It’s certainly a lot harder to lug equipment around—especially in New York City. I’m fortunate to play with a lot of musicians from all age ranges and am glad when “aging rockers� get noticed.

fter serving as the driving force behind over 20 years’ worth of music in bands such as RZA, Jenifer Convertible, Minor Planets, and Tenterhooks and opening for legendary acts from Iggy Pop to U2, Lenny Zenith has stepped into the spotlight with his first solo record, What If the Sun. Released on June 22, the album is the flagship release from his new label XYYX Records, which will largely focus on supporting trans, nonbinary, and gender variant artists of all genres as they find their foothold in the industry.

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This is some seriously big-britches shit, but there’s something charmingly unassuming about both Zenith and the 12 tracks of pop-rock mastery on display on What If the Sun. As more and more fans discover his bright, bouncy songcraft and absorbing life story—the details of which will soon be shared in his memoir, “Before I Was Me�—Zenith remains committed, above all, to the wellbeing of his community.

ON MUSIC AND ACCEPTANCE

As an awkward, androgynous preteen with glasses and wiry hair, I wasn’t the most popular kid in school. I was picked on quite a bit. The day I brought my guitar to school and did some passable renditions of The Who’s “Pinball Wizard� and Elton John’s “Roy Rogers,� I achieved a new level of respect. Like many kids who go on to be performers, this modicum of acceptance had a powerful pull.

ON INFLUENCES

My parents were both classically trained, and my dad was a preacher,

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alize most musicians do it, but I always hated the fact that it was the only way to have health insurance and mental healthcare. Being creative takes a lot of time—alone time. Commuting and being chained to a desk never seemed like a great way for a musician to spend their time. I’ve come to peace with it for the most part.

ON BEING COMFORTABLY POP

so we primarily listened to classical music, showtunes, and hymns. My influences ranged from ’70s AM radio to Chopin, Haydn, and Bach. Today, I like everything from Protomartyr to Ludovico Einaudi.

ON BEING OUT

I never wanted my transness to be the primary focus of my writing, work, or performance. As I’ve been more visible, it doesn’t matter anymore. Initially, it was harder—if not outright dangerous—to be out, and often, people just didn’t want to know. They wanted to bury their heads in the sand and not hear about it.

ON SONG TOPICS

I’ve written a few political songs, several about gender, etc., but I can’t focus on that. I write whatever comes to me when it comes. After transitioning at 14 and navigating unfamiliar waters of hormones, passing, forming

While I’ve often played in loud bands that combined noisy, dissonant elements, I confess I love pop hooks. I like good melodies and harmonies. It really works for me when groups [and] writers can juxtapose elements of “ugly beauty� into their work, whether it’s odd chord profriendships and relationships, etc., gressions, keeping the bass off the root, life became less focused on being buzzsaw guitars over beautiful vocals, trans, though you never stop advo- etc. If I try too hard to go “out� musically, cating and supporting others—and it doesn’t sound authentic. their parents.

ON BANDS VS. LENNY ZENITH

ON XYYX RECORDS

I ran a small indie label in the ’90s that specialized in 7� vinyl. It was a lot of fun I’ve always been the primary writer and hard work. I wanted to start a label in my bands, but the contributions that would mostly support the transgenbandmates make is so substantive, it der, nonbinary, genderqueer community. always seemed like a better idea to I talked to my friend and bassist James have a band name. With this latest [Pertusi] about it, and as a faithful ally to record, What If the Sun, I decided the community, he was willing to help. We to use my name, as people—espe- will currently provide for digital distribucially in New Orleans—are familiar tion and promotion for artists who have with me. I changed my name at 18 great music, regardless of genre, and will to Lenny Zenith. I had always been also include non-trans artists.

Lenny as a child, as it was a nickON MY MEMOIR name for Blanca Elena. My mom’s family was Cuban.

I’ve been working on this for over 10 years.

It’s been a long, often challenging ride.

ON WORKING I’ve tried to include the most interesting “STRAIGHT� JOBS funny and painful bits. “Before I Was Me�

One of the most frustrating things is should be out early this summer. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł having to work full-time for so long. I re-

NOT PHOTO BY ASHLEY OSBORN

FEATURING EMO NITE CREATORS MORGAN FREED, T.J. PETRACCA, AND BABS SZABO

utting together a playlist full of the best emo hits is a difficult job. There are a ton of songs from the late ’90s and early 2000s that bring a sense of screaming nostalgia. Emo Nite cocreator Morgan Freed explains, “I think it was before there were rooms full of songwriters trying to make the next ‘hit’ song. It was when bands were bands to be bands, not to become the next big thing—super organic, super sincere. Plus, that was the last shit where you had to use physical albums to play songs.�

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Emo Nite has become a thrilling venue for people across the U.S. to let their energy and smiles come to life while special hosts roll through DJ sets built to shake the room. Creators Freed, T.J. Petracca, and Babs Szabo discuss starting Emo Nite and making it the best party currently touring the country.

MF: Oh yeah, we’ve tricked the entire world. We don’t know how the fuck to DJ still.

TJP: We kind of just wanted to hang out at a bar with our friends and pick the music we liked, and then, we realized a lot of other people wanted to do the same.

BS: The bar where we first started Emo Nite was actually pretty cool about us throwing it there, but they wouldn’t give us a Thursday night, because they didn’t know how well it would do. They let us

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BY SEAN GONZALEZ THE FOCUS FROM THE INDIVIDUALS WHO CREATE THE BEST ALBUMS TO TAKE AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE JOBS THAT KEEP THE INDUSTRY RUNNING. GO BEYOND THE MUSIC AND MEET THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP YOUR FAVORITE BANDS IN THE PUBLIC EYE... place where everyone is really respectful of one another, where no one is above anyone else.

do the first one on a Tuesday, thus why we used to call our party Taking Back Tuesday. It’s kind of funny that we never changed the day of our event from Tuesday in L.A. ever since. Tuesday just works here.

What do they want out of attendees at Emo Nite?

MF: Basically, I want it to feel like the most fun party you’ve ever been to. I want people to meet new people, make new memories, and stay in tune with music.

TJP: We just want everyone to have the most fun the entire time. We try not to let the party ever stop. I am tired of going to shows and watching a band with my arms crossed, then waiting around for 20 to 30 minutes watching another band and just standing there. I want everyone to be completely engaged and enjoying themselves and the entire Emo Nite experience from start to finish. There are no egos involved with Emo Nite; everyone can kind of make the night their own and be involved however much or as little as they want. They can literally hop onstage and be the star of their own show.

The humble creators still have not “made itâ€? in their eyes, and they continue to make Emo Nite one of the most important aspects of their day jobs. While they boast accomplishments such as having UNDERĂ˜ATH and Dashboard Confessional play acoustic sets, they really just want to keep the inspiration and party alive.

What is the most inspiring thing they’ve witnessed so far?

MF: I think the tightest thing is we could basically walk away and a crowd would know how to run the night now. We’ve been doing it for so long that a lot of the crowd has become part of the team, and I think that’s super inspiring to see people start as observers [and become] producers because of how much they fuck with it.

TJP: When someone had a sign that said: “Emo Nite saved my life.�

BS: So many people have gotten engaged at Emo Nite, and a lot of those people actually met at Emo Nite! That’s the coolest part.

It’s inspiring to see people find love. When I attended Emo Nite in Denver, I understood the premise, but I entered with a slight suspicion about what was going to happen. I obtained some water, a couple slices of pizza, and was immediately shouting along—with a mouth full of food—to “MakeDamnSure� by Taking Back Sunday, but the song I went hardest to was “Beating Heart Baby�

by Head Automatica. I felt rejuvenated and alive in this safe space.

Emo Nite is an incredible achievement in the music industry, flushing out a sense of relief and catharsis while the love spreads around the room in the form of sound waves. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł PHOTO BY GRIZZLEE MARTIN

BS: With Emo Nite, we try to create the same sense of community that a show would have. It’s a celebration of the songs we grew up listening to, but we also focus on current music and culture. We want Emo Nite to always remain a

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PHOTO BY JOSH SISK

RESONANT VOICES

BY BRITTANY MOSELEY

FEATURING SHAWNA POTTER OF SAFER SCENES

Spotlighting the important changing the landscape of playing a single note...

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n the five years Shawna Potter has spent training people on creating safer spaces—from leading workshops as the cofounder of the Baltimore chapter of Hollaback! to educating attendees at last year’s Warped Tour through her project Safer Scenes 2017—she has noticed that everyone has the same question.

Potter plans to expand the ideas preIn three short chapters, she outlines sented in her pocket guide into a book how to create a welcoming space, how due out in 2019. She plans to provide to respond if someone is harassed or more real-life examples people can assaulted in your space, and how to learn from and apply in their own lives. be accountable. She also includes “That’s what people have been really an appendix on alcohol—a topic that craving. ‘Tell me all the things I could is frequently brought up in sessions do in this one situation, so I can find she teaches—and a resource section the thing that works for me,’� she says. with organizations, hotlines, networks, “Everyone has a different personality and websites. type. Not everyone should be the per-

“The number one thing is, ‘What do we “A lot of what I talk about when I do do?’ What do we do if someone says trainings is giving people permission they were harassed?� Potter says. “I to do something, letting them know it’s realized that people have really good more important to do something than intentions, and they want to do the to maybe read the situation wrong,� right thing, but they need to be told, she says. “And here’s how to avoid ‘Do these things.’ They need something overtly reading the situation wrong. tangible to wrap their heads around, Here’s how you can do it in a subtle like an action they can take, not just ‘Be way so that there’s less embarrassment. cool to a victim.’ That’s not enough.�

I try to get them over that feeling of, you might be embarrassed if it’s actually This need for something tangible led just a couple and they’re play-fightPotter—lead vocalist of the feminist ing. It’s worth it to know that she’s going punk band War On Women—to write home safe [rather than] not do or say “Making Spaces Safer: A Pocket Guide,� anything and wonder if she’s OK.� released June 5 via AK Press. This 43page pamphlet offers practical, detailed Sexual harassment is not a new issue, advice that can be implemented in any and Potter is the first to point out that community space—from punk shows and much of the information in her guide piano bars to game nights and improv has been around for years. But due in groups—by anyone involved in the space. large part to the #MeToo movement, as “Whether you own a space, run it, work well as the continuing work of organifor it, volunteer for it, or just patronize it, zations like Hollaback! and Green Dot, this pamphlet is for you,� Potter writes how people react to gender-based vioin the introduction. lence is changing. “It seemed like, final-

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ly, everyone else—not people who are traditionally victims of gender-based violence—their ears were finally open,�

Potter says. “They’re finally really listening, really getting it, how serious of an issue this is, how common it is for those of us who are potential victims. They’re finally ready to do something about it instead of just saying, ‘Yeah, that sucks.’�

son confronting a harasser, and that’s OK. There are things to do for every personality type and every perceived sense of safety in any given situation.�

If phase one was educating people on gender-based violence and phase two was teaching them how to prevent it, for Potter, phase three is making it all second nature. “When you have that community standard of what’s appropriate in our space, guess what? Everyone rises to the occasion,â€? she says. “So, harassment will happen less. And when it does happen—because there are always assholes—it won’t impact victims in such a heavy, negative way, because it will be so much easier to say, ‘You’re nuts, get outta here. You can’t say that,’ and know that people have their back when they do that.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY SLOANE DAKOTA TUCKER

“I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE DON’T FORGET THAT WE WERE HERE.�

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: FARRAH SKEIKY

INTERVIEW BY BRITTANY MOSELEY

BAND - SEM HASTRO

arrah Skeiky has photographed Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, and Portugal. The Man, but she’d much rather be in the pit at a small punk show. “I love a photo when you can’t tell who’s in the band and who’s in the crowd,� Skeiky says, “when everybody is equally excited, everyone is yelling along—somebody has the mic, and it might not even be the singer. I love a photo like that.�

F

OLIVIA NEUTRON-JOHN

in D.C. in the ’80s and ’90s,� she says. “It’s more Black. It’s more brown. It’s more femme. It’s more queer. It’s more trans. All types of people are out here.

I just want to make sure that people don’t forget that we were here and that nobody can say, ‘Oh, we didn’t know about that. We didn’t see any photos.

We didn’t read any articles.’�

Skeiky understands that documentation and representation go hand in When she got her first camera at age 15, she quickly became obsessed with hand. As a queer Muslim woman of color—“Not to play oppression bingo here,� capturing everything, from family gatherings to her friend’s band’s show at she quips—she understands how powerful it can be to see someone like yourself the community center. She started photographing bands in the Washington in a different space.

D.C. area for a local online magazine as a 19-year-old college student. Since then, her work—which also includes portrait and food photography—has “Bolt Thrower is maybe my favorite old-school O.G. metal band. One of the been featured everywhere from Noisey and The A.V. Club to The Washington reasons I love Bolt Thrower is because they had Jo Bench, an amazing bassPost and Rolling Stone. It’s an impressive roster for someone who didn’t set out ist, and I saw a woman playing bass in a metal band and was like, ‘I can do to make money shooting shows. that,’ because I had typically just seen women cast as singers in the band and not playing the instruments,â€? she says. “And then, I saw X-Ray Spex, and For Skeiky, it all goes back to documentation. That means photos of Dave I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a brown woman doing this? You’re telling me that I can Grohl and Josh Homme and underground acts like Razorbumps, Body Pres- do that? Great.’ Sometimes that’s all you need. All you need to see is a person sure, and Red Death. who looks like you doing something to know that there is space for you or that it is possible to make space for yourself.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł “I want people to know that, one, yes, there is punk music in D.C. It hasn’t gone away, and it’s different. It’s very much independent of what was happening

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THE NEWEST NOISE FOR YOUR LISTENING PLEASURE! PHOTO BY JESSICA MALONE

PHOTO BY ELEANOR PETRY

THE 1984 DRAFT Dayton, Ohio

ACTIVE BIRD COMMUNITY Brooklyn, New York

The most important responsibility of a football team’s general manager is to make good choices when the annual draft comes around. Having good decision-making abilities and being a good judge of character can impact the quality of the product on the field. Such is the case for sports-loving band The 1984 Draft. Makes Good Choices is festooned with appreciation for the past, present, and future. Vocalist Joe Anderl’s lovely mother adorns the album’s cover, though he says the best choice he’s ever made was marrying his wife—smart answer, dude! “Ultimately,â€? he elaborates, “the story here is one of growth, redemption from past mistakes, and learning how to continue to make good choices so [my] wife, kids, and friends end up with the best version of me they can get.â€? Musically honest, homecooked Midwestern melodic punk is the name of the game, but it’s all elevated by Anderl’s charm and ability to make the listener truly give a shit. This is powerful stuff, indeed. đ&#x;’Ł

Amends does a peculiar dance, sounding both retro and fresh. Active Bird Community are wonderfully loud and emotive, bridging the gap between ’90s indie rock and 2010s emotinged grunge. It’s certainly different than your standard quiet-loud stock template, and it’s made all the better by vocalist and guitarist Tom D’Augustino’s raw lyricism. Amends reckons with the past in an optimistic way, but “I think that ‘hoping for a better future’ part is really important too,â€? D’Augustino says. “Once you contend honestly with the past and you kind of get that squared away, the future isn’t so threatening. I think we all feel empowered by what we made together. We feel stronger as songwriters but also as a group of friends who have spent most of our lives together.â€? Active Bird Community are certainly chirping to the rhythm of their own avian heartbeats and should appeal to anyone looking to really care about the loud music they’re enjoying. đ&#x;’Ł

Makes Good Choices | Aug. 24 | Poptek Records RIYL: Midwest livin’. Sports references. Marital bliss.

Amends | Sept. 14 | Barsuk Records RIYL: Big, bold tunes. Temporal awareness. Feeling things

PHOTO BY BRITTON ASSINK

COHERENCE Oakland, California

Of Alternate Spaces | July 1 | A-F Records & Get Better Records RIYL: Aggressive sonic expression. Inclusion. Tearful open eyes.

Everything about Coherence and their amazing debut record is crystal clear—coherent even. The group’s post-hardcore is filtered through a ’90s emo lens, but it feels violent and candid like the best of the current crop rising out of the underground. Their music is a collective outlet, a means of connection to the audience, and feels like an invitation into a dialogue rather than a sermon from the pulpit. “We try to interact with people in a conversational way, ideally inviting moments that aren’t about an audience being performed at but rather creating a space to share stories and explore ideas that everyone is a part of,� they explain. “It feels especially important to do this with people who have been historically—and often continue to be—excluded from these spaces. This is something most of us have experienced a lot, feeling excluded or marginalized even in these spaces specifically for weirdos, but [we] have also had magical moments that have helped us feel at home.�

Inclusion is rarely so clearly rendered, and Of Alternate Spaces is a fantastic first impression. đ&#x;’Ł

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PHOTO BY BOBBY WHITMIRE

DOLLAR SIGNS Charlotte, NC

DROPOUT KINGS Phoenix, Arizona

This Will Haunt Me | July 13 | A-F Records RIYL: Raging against the debt-machine. Relatability. Lulz

AudioDope | Aug. 10 | Napalm Records RIYL: Unapologetic rap-metal. Varsity jackets. Bringing the heat.

This Will Haunt Me exemplifies how to pull off sardonic wit without sounding like a sarcastic asshole—with an oddly charming party punk vibe to boot. Dollar Signs’ self-labeled “student loan-coreâ€? rages against regret on an album about weddings, pop songs, crying, and the Electric Slide. This charisma stems from vocalist and guitarist Erik Button’s likeable and relatable word choices. “I always try to think of writing lyrics as a mix between writing poetry and telling my friends a story about something that happened to me,â€? he says. “I’m not a huge fan of lyrics that are just endless complaining, so I try to make my thoughts and feelings fun and digestible. I would call my approach, ‘songified gallows humor.’â€? Despite containing a song literally entitled “Waste My Life Away,â€? Dollar Signs’ personality and hilarious tales of frustration are essential listening for any disillusioned punk fan. đ&#x;’Ł

Taking your craft seriously is a good idea, but taking yourself seriously? Overrated. AudioDope is the rare rap-metal record that doesn’t bow down to nu-metal nostalgia or concern itself with anything other than having a good time.

Dropout Kings’ tales of everyday struggle fuse progressive metalcore riffs with seriously impressive hip hop. The band’s trademark look came as an accidental afterthought, but it’s easily the most metal trip to Michaels ever. “Originally, we were going to go with the NWA look, repping hometown sports teams, etc.,� they explain, “but when we did the video for ‘NVM,’ we had the idea of using varsity jackets, which fit the band name. We bought blank ones, went to the nearest Michaels, and stuck some letters on them. The rest is history.�

It’s that self-awareness—and willingness to embrace alternative solutions—that makes Dropout Kings’ debut so memorable. Rap-metal hasn’t sounded this fun in a long time. đ&#x;’Ł

THE DROWNS Seattle & Los Angeles

View From the Bottom | Aug. 31 | 1984 Records & Live! From The Rock Room & Bypolar Records RIYL: Staying hella posi. Never losing hope. Your buddy, Rev. If you feel drowned but not out, The Drowns are the band for you. View From the Bottom explores the rising water—and stress—levels of everyday life, with a focus on the seeking out the lighthouses in the storm. “The three of us have been good friends for a while now, [and] that sense of positivity is just a part of all of our daily routines,â€? vocalist and guitarist Aaron Rev Peters shares. “In dark times like these, you have to remind yourself that the world isn’t all bad. We just write what we know, and currently, we are seeing horrible things happening around us every day.â€? View From the Bottom is a record that meets the listener where they are and offers a helping hand to a world very much in need of hope. Thankfully, the melodic punk backbone—with doses of folk and Americana—is stellar too. đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY MARK DIEHL

PHOTO BY TY SNADEN

HAAN Brooklyn, New York

LOW DOSE Philadelphia, Pennslyvania

MEGATIVE New York, New York

By the Grace of Blood and Guts | Aug. 10 | Aqualamb Records RIYL: Existential angst. Noisy melodicism. Fiery riffs.

Low Dose | TBA | Self-released RIYL: Soothing chaos. Tape decks. Quivering with anticipation.

Megative | July 27 | Last Gang Records RIYL: Toads. Locusts. Laughing in the face of annihilation.

HAAN come across like a band who wish to create as much listenable noise as possible, with dense compositions that are much more melodic than they have any right to be. Indeed, By the Grace of Blood and Guts is about as hook-filled as something this noisy can scientifically be. Treading at the edge of reason both musically and thematically, HAAN embody the roots of their Korean-culture-inspired name: a nod to living under a perpetual and oppressive feeling of ennui, an indefinable ache deep in the soul. Vocalist Chuck Berrett—who kills it on the record—explains, “The overall theme of the album kind of follows a human consciousness down the spiral of indulgence, indifference, and nihilism, which I think is a fairly common reaction to the sensationalism and the varied idealisms of an overstimulated society.â€? đ&#x;’Ł

A low dose sounds rather wimpy and ineffective. However, “Apocalypse, in Greek, means ‘disclosure of knowledge’ or this new grungy post-hardcore quartet bring a very differ- ‘uncovering’ or ‘revelation,’â€? Megative vocalist Tim Fletcher ent word to mind: potent. Sometimes a drug—or a band— notes. Surprisingly, the band’s diverse dystopian dub punk can be so powerful and efficient, you just need one drop isn’t dreary or depressing. Instead, this assured and asto get righteously healed. That’s what Low Dose—who rose toundingly fun record revels in the shared knowledge and from the ashes of Fight Amp and Legendary Divorce—was discovery of how fucked we truly are as a society. Megative for vocalist and guitarist Itarya Rosenberg. The band are touches on our dark times and the unveiling of ignorance. not just an outlet but a sort of treatment for recent trauma. Yet, the cross-continental band embrace the end with a Put succinctly, “To be honest, I am not sure how I would have wonderfully enchanting style that will serve as the perfect gotten through a very intense and difficult transition in my soundtrack to our impending extinction. “Megative write life without the band and this record,â€? she says. While their songs about characters caught in various aspects of the full album has yet to be released, the first small dose—the sickness,â€? Fletcher adds, “and it’s actually a hell of a lot cassingle “For Sureâ€? b/w “Right On,â€? released July 21—is an of fun—and funny too.â€? Like the best end-times preachers, intoxicating blend of rock and metal styles, with a punch Megative’s unique take on reggae is sure to recruit quite and power that feels wholly unique. These tracks should be the flock. đ&#x;’Ł FDA-approved on efficacy alone. đ&#x;’Ł

NEW NOISE 11

PHOTO BY JESSICA MALONE

ODD ROBOT Fullerton, California

URSULA Apple Valley, California

Amnesiatic | Aug. 3 | Wiretap Records RIYL: Gallows humor. Earworms. Retrofuturism.

Meet Is Murder | July 6 | Indecision Records RIYL: Animal rights. Teeth-gnashing ferocity. Not being an asshole.

Humorously, Amnesiatic is particularly unforgettable. With a sound that’s bright and bubbly with just enough punk edge and grim realism, Odd Robot are truly one abnormal android.

One part power pop, one part Midwestern punk, the band masterfully mix light and dark, catchy hooks and depressing shit, satire and exaggeration. “I never cared for dark-sounding songs with dark lyrics. Spare me the razorblades,â€? vocalist and guitarist Andy Burris laughs. “I’d rather laugh about terrible shit—or make a mockery of it at least.â€? The record deals with what Burris jokes are the finer things in life: absent-mindedness, lust, depression, atheism, booze, finding joy in others’ defeat, and lost love. This is one hilarious and emotive automaton. đ&#x;’Ł

Ursula—the band, not “The Little Mermaidâ€? villain—have a style that can only be described as the musical equivalent of a balanced, dense sonic stew—and it’s vegan to boot! Vocalist Whitney Marshall asks, “How do you stay woke in a sleepy world?â€? and Meet Is Murder wrestles with that witty frustration. “We try our best to spread a positive message, even with all the fuckery that gets thrown at us, generally speaking,â€? she adds, “but I have sort of given up on people too.â€? It’s precisely that maturity—knowing when to care and when to let go—that elevates the record’s resonance. Plus, the music is mighty tasty, with a frenetic yet carefully measured mix of ferocious styles spanning punk, hardcore, and metal. This is thoughtful aggression and purposeful noise. The riffs are packed in like sardines, but Ursula would prefer to let those fish live. đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY MARK CHAMPION

WARM DRAG Los Angeles, California

Warm Drag | Aug. 31 | In The Red RIYL: “Twin Peaks� dream sequences. Good trips. ’70s seduction.

“I hope our music conjures a strong visual experience and takes the audience into mysterious places,â€? Warm Drag vocalist Vashti Windish notes. The ethereal, evocative moodiness of their debut LP recalls worlds like ours but ever-so-slightly off. The music is throbbing and addictive, the hip-shaking beats contrasting beautifully with the distinct, distant feeling the duo concoct. It’s a perfect road trip record for those times when the world around you feels vacant yet alive. Windish concurs and elaborates, “I love to look out the window and contemplate the contrast of beauty and darkness in the passing landscapes, rundown strip malls, and open sky. There’s a calm, almost therapeutic feeling that comes over me, and my mind always wanders to the themes of the record.â€? This masterful record will surely evoke similar feelings, if you give it the chance. Warm Drag are certainly a band to watch. đ&#x;’Ł

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WEATHERED Saint Paul, Minnesota

Stranger Here | Aug. 17 | Facedown Records RIYL: Grace. Peaceful storms. Rain that washes away the pain.

Life is all about weathering your own personal and existential storms, and Facedown’s latest signees wrestle with this notion wonderfully on their debut full-length. Stranger Here tackles the times and places where vocalist and guitarist Justin Hieb felt like he didn’t fit in, along with his ability to find grace and a path forward at the end. “I guess what I’ve learned from writing this record is that despite struggling with personal identity or feeling like you don’t belong, there is something higher than all of this,� he says. “Instead of despairing about how I don’t belong anywhere, I try to remember that I am here, therefore, I was meant to be here. I have a purpose here. Call it faith or the power of love or whatever.

Humans have the responsibility to be good caretakers of the world and everyone in it.�

Stranger Here is a visceral, emotionally-charged grunge-gaze journey to redemption, as impressive musically as it is thematically. đ&#x;’Ł

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THE BLACK QUEEN INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST GREG PUCIATO

BY JASON SCHREURS

he Black Queen have been an “A lot of the nervousness about doing someunflinching departure from vo- thing that people weren’t expecting—or calist Greg Puciato’s former band, didn’t exactly know me for—went away The Dillinger Escape Plan. With the trio— after the first The Black Queen record was rounded out by Telefon Tel Aviv’s Joshua released,� he says. “I also realized that with Eustis and Nine Inch Nails technician Steven The Dillinger Escape Plan, even though Alexander Ryan—releasing their second people just think of it as screaming and album, Infinite Games, on Sept. 28 through aggression and extremity, we covered a their newly formed label, Federal Prisoner, lot of ground, and I cover a lot of ground it has become apparent that this is musical vocally, in particular. Everything you put territory that needed to be unearthed. into a song is like a door, and you can go through that door and down that path “The Black Queen records have been an in- into a more elaborate, fleshed-out place.

In Dillinger, there were a lot of doors cubator for my artistic development, where that I could go way further down into a I can explore things I wasn’t able to flesh out direction, and I feel like The Black Queen as much in Dillinger,� Puciato explains. “As a is down one of those doors into a different music writer, even with things like emotional direction. There is some soft singing in sensitivity, the range in this material is much different. This was about as intimate or re- some Dillinger songs, but nothing like this.� served or nuanced as I could get. Dillinger was all about pushing it to 11, and this was Puciato says The Black Queen’s lineup all about how close I could come to zero.� came together naturally. Ryan was a tech for Dillinger before working with Nine Inch Nails, and the two met Eustis when he The Los Angeles band, who started was a touring member of Puscifer. Since around 2012, took four years to put out their first album, 2016’s Fever Daydream, then, the three musicians have found a lot as Puciato was busy recording and tour- of common—albeit obscure—ground to influence their sound. “The commonality ing with Dillinger. Now that his influential heavy music band have called it quits, Pu- in Josh, Steve, and I is very, very strange,�

Puciato explains. “We can talk about really ciato has immersed himself in the creative out-there, ambient stuff, as well as freestyle process surrounding The Black Queen and records from the ’80s, like Trevor Horn’s isn’t concerned with what the response production on the first two Seal records—so, from his hardcore fanbase might be.

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LOW

or 25 years, Duluth, Minnesota-based indie rockers Low have put out albums that defy expectations. Whether it was their early days of turning it down and playing slow while everybody else seemed to be going fast and loud or later albums on which they cast aside the strictures of the slowcore genre by adding elements of dissonance, post-rock, and electronic music to the mix, the band— husband and wife mainstays and co-vocalists, guitarist Alan Sparhawk and drummer Mimi Parker, along with bassist Steve Garrington—have always been about exploring new sonic territories.

F

They continue this journey on their 12th album, Double Negative, which drops Sept.

14 through Sub Pop. The roots of this new album go back to their prior release, 2015’s Ones and Sixes. On it, they enlisted the services of producer BJ Burton, who helped push more electronic elements to the forefront. The band decided to use him again on Double Negative, because they wanted to further explore this new sonic territory. “The last record went

16 NEW NOISE

things that wouldn’t be normal for fans of Converge or something to know about.�

Puciato says that after Dillinger broke up, he was ready to fully immerse himself in a different musical direction, and Infinite Games was exactly the project he needed. “I was ready for it emotionally. For my personal development, it was necessary for me to find that. This band is very tied to my development,� he says. “When [Dillinger’s 2013 album], One of Us Is the Killer, came out, this project was really picking up behind the scenes. That was out of necessity, because I was at a point of extremity in my life that I don’t think I could have explored any further in that direction.�

As far as describing The Black Queen’s sound, although there are overtones of ambient and electronic music, Puciato says it’s best to just listen to the record. “It was hard to me to explain to someone what Dillinger sounds like, but this is honestly harder, because the reference points are so far away,â€? he says. “I’m a weirdo with the kinds of music I listen to. I listen to a lot of stuff that doesn’t really connect at all. So, the fact that I can touch on some of that in this band, I feel very fortunate to have another band that is as equally weird to categorize as Dillinger was. If it’s difficult for me to explain what my band sounds like, then I feel like I’m on the right path.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST ALAN SPARHAWK BY THOMAS PIZZOLA very well for us,� Sparhawk says. “We liked what we heard, so we thought we could push that sound further. It would be a new way for us to create. It’s definitely not how we sound when we play live. It’s all in the spirit of keeping it interesting.�

The album opens with the triptych of “Quorum,� “Dancing and Blood,� and “Fly,� which were also released as a trio of interconnected videos. These three songs set down the “rules� for the rest of the album to follow. “Sequencing is an odd thing,� Sparhawk says. “You see that a group of songs work well together and certain patterns emerge. The first three songs set up the sonic palette for the rest of album. It sets up new boundaries. There is the option of pushing that farther in order to create a new vocabulary for the listener.� Double Negative follows through on Sparhawk’s statement. It definitely doesn’t sound like a band resting on their laurels. Nope.

The album retains all of Low’s stark beauty, but it also drowns a lot of these moments in feedback and hiss. It challenges the listener to leave all their preconceived notions of what Low should sound like at the proverbial door. For a band reaching their 25th anniversary, this drive to explore new avenues of sonic expression is quite commendable.

Others may play it safe, but not them. After all, that’s been their modus operandi since the very beginning. “The band was formed on doing something different, pushing boundaries,� Sparhawk says.

Geography has also played a part in forming Low’s sound and ethos. “We grew up in Northwest Minnesota where there was basically nothing going on,�

Sparhawk explains. “In Minneapolis, you had Prince, The Replacements, and HĂźsker DĂź. That was the spark. There were people really close by doing cool stuff. It gave us hope. It made us believe that it was possible.â€? “Of course, the climate also has an effect too,â€? he adds. “You become a shut-in for the winter, just huddled inside strumming your guitar.â€?

PHOTO BY SHELLY MOSMAN

It’s been quite the journey for Low: a quarter century of shattered expectations and growth. Though, when they first started, Sparhawk didn’t think they would last this long. “Of course not, no. When we first started, we were just a bunch of friends trying to play slow and quiet. We’re lucky we’ve been able to take it as far as we have.

We take it one step, one year at a time,â€? he says. “We’ve been lucky. We’ve met some great people, got some lucky breaks. It’s all about, ‘Can we do this, or do we have to take time off and go into the spiral of getting jobs?’ We’ve found a way to keep stringing it along. It’s been a pretty wonderful ride.â€? đ&#x;’Ł

Acoustic versions of songs from the American Spring and American Fall records + covers of songs that inspired them.

September 28th cd | lp | digital

spinefarmrecords.com

NEW NOISE

17

BOSSE-DE-NAGE

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST BRYAN MANNING

BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

he post-black-metal craze is cultivating since their first demo in 2006. sweeping the nation, the world, “My lyrical approach on this one is a little and especially the Bay Area. A different than in the past,� Manning says. “I plethora of bands fitting this description felt like all the songs ended up being little have been popping up in the Sunshine short stories or flash fiction. They just kind State, each with a very unique style. Bosse- of came out that way, and the themes—dede-Nage are carving out their own well-de- pression, the repetitive nature of life, things fined sound and have steadily been creat- like that—just sort of all came together. I ing music and contributing to the scene. guess some of them don’t have a pointed theme for me; they are really more of brief short stories.� “This is our fifth album, and I feel like all of our albums have been a progression from the previous one,� vocalist Bryan Manning And while the group are committed to explains of Further Still, out Sept. 14 on upholding social justice and speaking out The Flenser. “This album takes a similar for what’s right, they focus more on the approach to the one before it, but we set personal within their lyrics. group’s competence in the studio, Manning out specifically to try to kind of make these claims the recording process was a breeze. songs more concise, more to-the-point, “I personally would never play with a Nazi “We worked with Jack Shirley on our last album more just straightforward. We didn’t write band or be associated with anyone like too, so there was a familiarity there,� he says. “It as many songs that have so much sprawl; that, but we aren’t one of those bands kind of narrates the songwriting process in a we were focused on writing really straight- who really use their music to address way, and it was over before you know it.� forward songs. It was a challenge for us, but these kinds of issues,� Manning explains.

I think we did it well.â€? “For us, it’s more like a personal catharsis. While Bosse-de-Nage don’t tour very often I don’t use my music as a social platform, and consider themselves more a studio Although Bosse-de-Nage are a relatively more as a release for personal demons.â€? band, they are hoping to go on tour in supyoung band, they have been churning port of Further Still if possible—especially on out albums regularly. Each record tells a Working with Jack Shirley—who has made a the East Coast, as they have mainly played unique story, and it seems the group have name for himself producing bands like Deaf- in and around their home state. Keep an no shortage of musical and lyrical ideas to heaven—Bosse-de-Nage made good time eye on Bosse-de-Nage to learn about their share. Further Still is aptly titled, as it serves with this recording. Thanks to Shirley’s expe- future tour plans, and look for Further Still as a continuation of the music they’ve been rience recording post-black metal and the on Sept. 14. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

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GOD ALONE

t’s fitting that the latest project from vocalist and guitarist Mike Hranica—of The Devil Wears Prada fame—centers around reverence and types of idolatry. Bent Shoulders, released July 20 via Rise Records, is a love letter to the fun, weird things a true technician can do with a set of strings and a series of pedals and amplifiers. It’s noisy, beautifully ugly post-punk that references a host of influences from the past two decades and stands on the, uh, shoulders of those idols.

I

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST MIKE HRANICA

BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

priate for what The Devil Wears Prada does. There’s something quite automatic for me where I know what work should go where. When I write poetry, I know that it will likely fall outside of The Devil Wears Prada. God Alone is just another vessel.�

The record wrestles with oft deified ideas and entities but doesn’t directly address religion. “We’ll see where God Alone goes from here lyrically, but Bent Shoulders is [about] degradation,� Hranica expands. “It’s the discussion of the grind, I suppose.

However, the group initially grew out of God Alone hasn’t approached God spefriendship and a love of music. “God cifically but has approached god-like figAlone is born of guitar reverence,â€? Hrani- ures in a fictional sense. I’d say that’s the ca explains. “[Guitarist] Kyle [Sipress] and closest we’ve gotten to Christianity and I met and started God Alone before he religion. Even as a believer myself, I have teched and played in The Devil Wears not felt drawn to approach the subject in Prada. This was the project that began God Alone.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł our friendship and where we started together musically.â€?

Bent Shoulders is a particularly dark record, seemingly reckoning with the situations and feelings that weigh people down. “Ordinary catharsis sparks the desire to approach different topics,�

Hranica explains. “I was never [supposed] to sing and write lyrics for God Alone, but when we couldn’t find anyone, that’s where we ended up. I gave it a shot, and Kyle thought it was cool, so here we are.

With that said, I certainly enjoy the outlet to approach subjects that are not appro-

18 NEW NOISE

HORRENDOUS

PHOTO BY SCOTT KINKADE

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST MATT KNOX

BY NICHOLAS SENIOR he kings of the Philly underground are here to remind the world how death metal is done, but they’ve also arrived to talk politics, philosophy, and—emotional intelligence? The resulting record is some of the most technically accomplished and mind-blowingly fun heavy music released in recent memory.

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Indeed, Idol—the fourth LP and Season Of Mist debut from Horrendous, out Sept.

28—is one hell of a coming-out party for a band who sound like spiritual successors to the style’s forefathers, Death. However, Idol remains a series of ravishing individual thought patterns all their own.

A big part of Horrendous’ past, present, and, likely, future success stems from their ability to craft insanely complicated music that is timeless in its desire to have as much fucking fun as possible. Guitarist and vocalist Matt Knox acknowledges that this is part and parcel of the Horrendous mindset. “I think we’ve always aimed to create music that was challenging but still deeply rooted in strong songwriting and the exuberant core that’s been at the heart of heavy metal since its inception,� he says. “I think we’ve always wanted to recreate the same feeling in our music that

we had when we first heard the greats of the past—this sense that the music is larger than life, that it is invigorating, and that you are participating in this enormous power.�

Idol philosophically deals with the state of the world in the past few years, especially how people often fuse their opinions into their identities in a really grotesque manner. “I think almost everyone experienced varying degrees of shock, confusion, anger, and bewilderment after the U.S. election in 2016,� Knox says, “but what really affected me was the tangible fear that I could sense in many of those around me—most strongly from my friends of color, from the LGBTQ community, and the women in my life. I think the sum of all this negative emotion became so overwhelmingly strong that it manifested physically in the space I occupied, almost as an emotional specter hanging over everything. I think this fear—along with the triumph experienced by those on the opposing side whose beliefs were validated—led to such a strong galvanization of personal belief in many people, culminating in the desire to act, often violently, on those beliefs.�

Knox explains that this phenomenon manifested in a rather horrifying edifice

of convictions personified. “More than ever, I saw people becoming their beliefs, possessed by them in a sense, and completely losing themselves as they fused their identities with the ideology they supported,� he continues. “I think this is primarily where the idea of Idol came from. It’s a shout in the void, railing against the seeming need to have some external, higher power—[a] god, leader, ideology, or belief—to derive a meaning out of life and to carve out an identity for oneself.�

So, how does one fight this idolatry culture?

Knox’s day job was, uh, instructive here. “I am a teacher, and more than ever, I see the importance of teaching empathy, critical

MUNCIE GIRLS

reading, and analysis and of encouraging debate and the desire to share ideas,� he says. “I’m also a huge proponent of explicitly teaching social and emotional skills, because so many kids are growing up without developing any emotional intelligence.�

Was all the frustration, effort, and energy spent focusing on the negative aspects of the world around him worth it? The results of Idol are unequivocal: one of the most promising bands in metal have released their most complex, introspective, and fun record to date. Horrendous have created a masterpiece of prog death—but please don’t idolize them. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY PAUL SILVER

INTERVIEW WITH FRONT WOMAN LANDE HEKT

BY KAYLA GREET

difficult deciding which songs would end uncie Girls from Exeter, U.K., will up on the album, especially because we’d return with their sophomore full-length, Fixed Ideals, on Aug. spent so much time recording them all. In the end, we were just ruthless with them.�

31 via Buzz Records in North America and Specialist Subjects in the U.K. and Europe. When asked what’s going to happen to those cutting-room-floor tracks, Hekt says, It’s a strong follow-up to 2016’s From Caplan to Belsize and contains some incredible “We’d love to release a record of the off-cuts and B-sides! We’ll see.� Fingers crossed! standout tracks. For a band who have been active since 2013 but have mainly released One of the many things that separates splits and EPs, it is a real treat to get two LPs Muncie Girls from the pack is the quality in two years. of their lyrics. They have a high level of literacy effortlessly injected into their music Their present lineup consists of Lande Hekt on so many words. She says that while she was vocals and bass, Dean McMullen on guitar, in a way that isn’t overly intellectual or inaccessible. Vulnerability, honesty, and “luckily never close to [her] father, it’s just someand Luke Ellis on drums. Hekt also jumped thing that needs to be said.� Setting boundaries integrity flow through every situation they in on second guitar for a large portion of in toxic relationships, even if it means severing sing about. Fixed Ideals’ first single, “Picture this record, which helps to round out an contact altogether, is such an important thing. of Health,� is a platonic love song focusing already lovely full-length. “Making music as a on two people who struggle with mental “I did find it empowering to write, and that’s ‘four-piece’ naturally invites more layers to be why I insisted it go at the start of the record,� health. The track is a modern anthem of incorporated, so I’d say the songs are musically Hekt says. “I’m a bit nervous for that song to friendship and self-care. “It can sometimes a bit more complex than the last record—which isn’t necessarily a good thing,� she ruminates. feel impossible to ask for help,� Hekt says. be released, but mostly excited!� “It might be embarrassing or you just don’t “We’ll find out what people think soon.�

Another fairly informative and positive want to be a burden on your friends, but change for Hekt is her sobriety. She talking to people is totally essential if you’re While two years between records may seem struggling! You have to show your vulnera- shares that she quit drinking over a year like a long stretch of time, Muncie Girls ago, just before going into the studio to bility in order to strengthen yourself.� certainly didn’t spend it resting on their make Fixed Ideals. “So, rather than there laurels. In fact, they had so much material Another track that jumps out is the opener, “Jer- being songs about sobriety, it’s more that going into recording Fixed Ideals that they there are songs about drinking too much,� emy,� on which Hekt tells her dad to piss off—in had to scrap six tracks. Hekt shares, “It was

M

she explains. “It was surreal being newly sober and hearing a lot of lyrics back about alcohol and the effects it was having.�

Within the last couple of years, Muncie Girls have grown quite popular, garnering international attention. That can be a tricky change to navigate, but it seems like the band are rather happy to lean into new opportunities. “We feel incredibly lucky to have experienced so much—and in the context of playing in this band, which we love doing,â€? Hekt says. Muncie Girls have an eight-day U.K. tour scheduled in support of the new record starting Sept. 26. On Nov. 5, they kick off their eight-day North American tour in New York City. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

NEW NOISE

19

NO PROBLEM

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST GRAEME MACKINNON BY CHRISTOPHER J. HARRINGTON only comes out once in a while with his plastic shovel to play in the sandbox, only to send the other kids running for their lives.�

ife is one big existential dump for Edmonton, Alberta, punk rockers No Problem. They know you have to look out for the finer things in life. “Nightlife can be scarce around here,â€? vocalist and guitarist Graeme MacKinnon laughs. “The trucks that gun by blasting MĂśtley CrĂźe, spraying exhaust, with dangling metal testicles hanging from the rear bumper is our version of swans floating in a French canal.â€?

L

Weighing in with old-school vigor, the band’s newest record, Let God Sort Em Out—released June 25 via Deranged Records—deals with the sort of bleak isolationism punk was birthed from. You can hear the spirit of The Clash, Dead Kennedys, and Germs in each quickening blast, each metaphorical spasm. ony Molina has long been a fixture in the San Francisco punk scene.

Unlike bands who move to the region and claim it as their own two weeks later, he’s spent his entire life within 30 minutes of where he grew up in the West Bay. His roots in its music community run deep, having played in Bay Area hardcore bands since high school. On the cover of Kill the Lights—the prolific songwriter’s most recent solo record, released July 27 on Slumberland Records—there’s a subtle ode to his familial connection to the city’s musical legacy too.

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“I thought about the idea of living amongst Let God Sort Em Out features short anthems, common folk,� MacKinnon elaborates, glass-breaking hardcore jams, and con- “walking around knowing you’ve seen peoceptual rigidity. “Eyes of a Killer� is post- ple at their most brutal, and then, you have to somehow forget it and buy a coffee or punk at its finest: Gang Of Four meet Killing drive to the store. I took it a bit further and Joke via the Canadian Rockies. MacKinnon thought about people who walk around cites New York City bands like Suicide and PHOTO BY A GIRL NAMED SHIRL a city and how some folk are really just a Bad Brains as inspiration and says the song big bang of DNA and experiences shaping was forged with a specific atmosphere. their behavior.�

The record is fast and grim but not without hope. Connection is vital to the album’s “I kind of hoped it would make people feel anxious,â€? he notes, “like a scene in a ’70s hor- “I went to Catholic school when I was a kid, charm: each pattern and rage feels like part and really, it shaped me,â€? he adds. “What ror movie where you know there’s something of greater whole, a group of friends. it taught me was an overall distrust with behind the shower curtain. I had read this adults and institutions like education and memoir by a Canadian war general, RomĂŠo “It can be bleak at times if it wasn’t for the fact that people here are really funny, Dallaire, called ‘Shake Hands With the Devil,’ religion and how we need to sometimes break away in order to find out who we wickedly sarcastic and self-deprecating,â€? dealing with his struggles with battle-worn really are. ‘Eyes of a Killer’ is about when PTSD from serving as a peacekeeper in MacKinnon says. “You can always find all the distrust and anger bubbles over Rwanda and the things he experienced and Edmonton expats in other cities around and you transform into something else. his difficult reintegration into society.â€? the world and instantly know the person Maybe you need to kill that part of your ruining everybody’s time at a party with an past in order to survive, I don’t know. It’s From there, “Eyes of a Killerâ€? delves into the incredibly inappropriate story is from our weird how conscience is really the only spiritual, the personal, and beyond. Akin to hometown [laughs]. No Problem’s music is voice of reason preventing people from the band’s music, the lyrics have a knack definitely a product of long winters and a lot of bullshitting among friends. Sometimes wild, for drawing you in with their fury and power, doing horrible things. The song kind of then opening you up and making you pon- asks: 'If we have no conscience, would we sometimes twisted, it’s like your weird mutant be able to control ourselves?’â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł der. Good punk rock is about ideas, and brother who lives under the floorboards, who

TONY MOLINA INTERVIEW BY BEN SAILER

“The cover of my record is my uncle’s old band,� Molina says, explaining his relation to the four men standing to the left on the front of the album. “They were part of the whole San Francisco Mission Latin rock scene in the early ’70s.�

20 NEW NOISE

Rest assured, Molina isn’t going anywhere.

In fact, if there’s a theme on the record at all, it wasn’t put there on purpose. None of the songs on Kill the Lights are about specific people or events aside from “Jasper’s Theme,� named after Jasper Leach, Molina’s primary collaborator on the album, along with Andrew and Steve Kerwin, Garritt Heater, and Manny Chocano. Rather than write about his own life, which makes him uncomfortable, Molina simply pieces together words that fit into melodies suited to the music, using language as instrumentation to serve the songs. “I just record songs with my friends, and we have fun,� Molina says. “That’s it. That’s all it’s ever going to be. That’s all music ever should be.�

If that statement makes anything clear about Molina, it’s that he keeps things as simple as possible. Now 33 years old, that straightforward philosophy has practically made him into a 10,000-hour expert at crafting tight power pop songs played with punk rock concision. Like his previous records, 2014’s Dissed and Dismissed and 2016’s Confront the Truth, Kill the Lights clocks in at around 12 minutes from start to finish, remarkably bringing the runtime of his entire solo discography to a little over half an hour. It’s short but effective, fitting with his approach of doing only what feels right, expectations and musical conventions be damned.

“They never made a record that big, but I like the fact that I’ve got roots in that shit— my family, you know?� he adds. “I wanted to—I don’t know, not quite pay tribute, but to honor them in a way.�

After giving Kill the Lights a cursory listen, one might assume Molina’s lyrics consciously connect back to personal experiences with his surroundings, where gentrification fueled by the tech industry has forced some of his friends and family to leave. And from the seemingly introspective questioning on “Wrong Town�—“I think I live in the wrong town,� he croons—to “Before You Go,� on which he sings, “Can I stay with you when you go / Because my house is not a home,� it might even sound like he’s ready to pack his bags and join them.

No Problem have a ton of them—a band as witty as they are dynamic.

PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO

“You don’t have to repeat parts. It’s bullshit.

Just get the fuck in there and get out of there,â€? he laughs. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

ANAAL NATHRAKH

A HORROR OLD AND NEW

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST DAVID HUNT BY MICHAEL PEMENTEL he world is—and has always been—a terrifying place. Human history is riddled with violent actions and pain, but as time continues, it seems there’s a constant shadow of gloom looming over the world. Given the struggles and confusion that surround us, how does one find hope?

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“It depends what you mean by hope,�

Anaal Nathrakh vocalist David “V.I.T.R.I.O.L.� Hunt says. “I expect that life will go on one way or another, so if you think that’s something to hope for, then I suppose hope is justified.

But I don’t expect humanity, in general, to improve at all, and I largely expect the world to be a progressively worse place to live in for the vast majority of people for the foreseeable future. So, in that sense, then, no.

I am not hopeful.�

Anaal Nathrakh have never shied away from discussing the horrors of life. Behind each one of the Birmingham, England, band’s records come a haunting lyricism and an

all-out devastating mix of extreme “Personally, I’ve felt that over the “We hope that listeners get something metal. Continuing their trajectory of past 10 years or so, there’s been an powerful out of our music, and we put increasing sense that the world is an a lot into it ourselves,� he replies. “Ofaggressive artistry, Anaal Nathrakh have entitled their 10th studio album uncertain and potentially dangerous ten, we include a lot of depth. There’s A New Kind of Horror, and it’s due out place. The slow decline of neolib- plenty to discover and think about on eralism is facilitating the growth of our albums, and A New Kind of Horror via Metal Blade Records on Sept. 28. extremists of various kinds, as we’re is no different in that regard—but you hearing things from politicians which have to do that for yourself.�

Commenting on what the album title represents, Hunt says, “It means a would have seemed insane not that number of different things at once, long ago: elections being manipulat- “Especially in terms of the emotional as album titles often do. Partly, it’s ed with impunity, leading figures just connection you make with music, it’s in recognition of the centenary of plain lying and getting away with it, your life, your ears, your mind,� he concludes. “What you get out of the music the First World War. That was a new and so on.� you listen to is personal to you, and no one kind of horror in many different ways.

Most strikingly, it was the first time “Some of the stuff I’ve heard in the should ever try to tell you otherwise.â€? đ&#x;’Ł that such huge numbers of people past year or two has sounded like it was from the 1930s, with all the had been killed in a conflict. It wasn’t ominous overtones that evokes,â€? he called a ‘world war’ for nothing.â€? adds. “Yet, now, the reasons for all this stuff are more obscure than ever A New Kind of Horror reflects the devastation and agony of World War before. There are familiar aspects to [these] events, but they’re part of a I and draws parallels to the dangers horror that’s both as old as time and we face today. Hunt notes that with political corruption and the rise of completely new.â€? violence, he sees the world becoming Given the themes and commentary a more treacherous place. within Anaal Nathrakh’s work, what “There are new kinds of horror does Hunt hope listeners will get out around today as well,â€? he confirms. of A New Kind of Horror?

NEW NOISE

21

PHOTO BY JACKI VITETTA

“It just feels good to know that I can influence people in a positive way.

INTERVIEW WITH LUIS APONTE AND AARON HEARD BY YONG LOS he streets of Philadelphia are painted with a rich and vibrant history. Not only has the city been integral to our nation’s formation, but it has also contributed heavily to the world of music. Philly is home to a versatile array of music, every block bustling with new sights and sounds—but beneath the layers of concrete is the pulsating energy of hardcore.

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At the surface of the city’s bubbling hardcore scene are Jesus Piece. The five-piece have clawed their way to the top, leaving miles of debris in their wake. After years of teasing fans with singles, splits, and EPs, Jesus Piece finally unleash their debut full-length, Only Self, on Aug. 24 via Southern Lord Recordings. Since emerging from the shadows of Philadelphia’s underground hardcore scene in 2015, the band have worked tirelessly to refine their raw sound, a destructive brand of hardcore that combines down-tempo breakdowns with personal lyricism.

The band’s sound encompasses the spirit of Philadelphia hardcore.

The combination of snarling guitar

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tones and vocalist Aaron Heard’s monstrous howl is a perfect recipe for the mayhem the group have become known for. The relentless chaos paired with brief moments of reprieve mirror life in the city. “I think Philly, in itself, is a really raw place,� drummer Luis Aponte says. “It’s pretty raggedy here, but I really appreciate the mood and the energy.�

Over the years, Jesus Piece have made an effort to stay involved in the scene. Whether it’s working the door, sharing gear with other bands, or attending others’ shows, the band do their best to lend a helping hand. But being part of the scene goes beyond the music; it’s an entire community that stands together, bonding over personal struggle. From mental health and personal vices to oppression in everyday life, hardcore stands as a place where everyone can face their demons. “I feel very strongly about anyone getting involved in hardcore,� Aponte explains. “I know what it’s like to struggle, especially when you feel like a minority among everyone else.�

On Only Self, Jesus Piece go toe-to-

toe with their own demons. The record tackles issues close to Heard as he wades through a thicket of cloudy emotions. The lessons on Only Self are focused on conquering personal adversity, a process that Heard believes starts with yourself. “At the end of the day, no one can fucking help you, and no one else can pull you from it,� he asserts. “It’s up to you to figure that shit out for yourself.�

Only Self shows Jesus Piece at their peak, delivering some of the most bone-shattering breakdowns and experimental arrangements the band have ever shared. With it, the band declare to the world that they aren’t afraid to be themselves. “I feel like people are trying to figure us out, and it’s not working, because we can’t even figure ourselves out,� Aponte says. “We’re continuously evolving in different ways, and I don’t think you can put us in a cube. We’re not trying to be anything. It’s just natural.�

Jesus Piece have spent years finding out who they are. With Only Self, they begin to show their true colors. As torchbearers of contemporary hardcore, the band gladly accept the

responsibility of keeping the flame alive. No matter where they go from here, Jesus Piece are ready to give back to the community that shaped them. “The way I look at things, the way I approach people—everything I feel grateful for all came from hardcore,â€? Aponte says. “It just feels good to know that I can influence people in a positive way. I’m just really proud of everyone in hardcore for working so hard." đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY KYLE BERGFORS

NOWHERE TO RUN, NOWHERE TO HIDE

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST MAD JOE BLACK BY HUTCH

eventeen years ago, guard- explains. “I wanted her specifically ians of the Pennsylvania on that song. I could hear her on that hardcore scene teamed track. To me, that was a perfect fit.â€? up to create a side project without definition. Over the years, Wisdom The most interesting story and song on In Chains found themselves growing Nothing in Nature Respects Weakness is stronger. Strengthened by unique “The Boy and the Cave.â€? A true parable, music, honest lyrics, and crushing live Mad Joe elicits vivid visions of a fleeing sets, they established themselves as boy. His descriptive writing paints a a top-tier band. Five full-lengths in, taut tale. Mad Joe and guitarist Richie July 20 blessed fans with the band’s Krutch go back and forth vocally. “You strongest material in years: Nothing in would think you’re listening to a fairy Nature Respects Weakness, out on Fast tale,â€? Mad Joe offers, but it’s an actual Break! Records. story. The lyric “You can’t outrun your shadow / And you can’t escape your Vocalist Jotham Oliver, better known nameâ€? is a hard line about inheriting as Mad Joe Black, pens lyrics that are more than genetic qualities. “There’s gritty and descriptive. Mad Joe’s lyr- a lot of layers that people are going ics expose vulnerability and a purity to have to dig through on quite a few of heart, a valid striving to be a better songs on this album,â€? Mad Joe says. human. His past, his parents, his youth, his missteps, his kids, his dog, The echo of family is a persistent imhis labor, and his most important print on Wisdom In Chains’ songs. “In attribute, his heart, are all fertile soil for many ways, I am still learning lessons,â€? harvesting challenging lyrics. His voice Mad Joe shares. “Some of these illustrates strong advice with the title of things that I was taught or I grew up Wisdom In Chains’ new album: Nothing with are very painful still. I’m 41 years in Nature Respects Weakness. old, but it still hurts, the things I have to deal with internally. ‘The Boy and “Nothing is going to pity you. Ever. It’s the Cave’ is about [how] you can’t a false security,â€? Mad Joe divulges. run away from internal pain.â€? “You got to take responsibility for your life, your actions. If there is some- While Wisdom In Chains are a thing you are failing at over and over, hardcore band, they never avoid you’re the only one who can fix it.â€? culling from different sounds. There are variations from punk to metallic The first two songs on the new record, stuff to subtler atmospheric intros to “Life Lessonsâ€? and “Already Dead,â€? set MotĂśrhead, Misfits, and Ramones a dark tone. The lyrics are cold and covers. “We never felt like we were in challenging. “Yeah, I didn’t realize a category or we couldn’t do a certhat but [saw it when] I stepped back,â€? tain thing,â€? Mad Joe says. “It’s nice to Mad Joe admits. “It wasn’t intention- know that when someone has a wild al. It was written over a long winter, idea, it’s gonna get its chance.â€? residue of being stuck in the house.

It was miserable outside, and there July 17 saw the premiere of the “Alwas a residue from that in my lyrics. ready Dead� music video. Mad Joe I’m not intentionally trying to bring roils with energy while talking about anyone down,� he laughs. wrapping it up two weeks prior. “It feels like when you’re performing to “Already Dead� is highlighted by a a big festival crowd in Europe,� he bold, heavy chorus riff and a familiar says. “It’s another level than a hardvoice on verse two: the intensely emo- core show, like playing 20 shows in one tive Matt Henson of Noi!se. Nothing in show based on the amount of people.

Nature Respects Weakness holds a few Recording a video is crazy, because more surprises. Expanding on their billions of people have access if you family vibe, guest appearances are can get it in their hands. It is mind-bogstacked on this go ’round. “Some- gling. It has a different vibe when you dayâ€?—from a split 7â€? with Madball think about where this can go.â€? earlier this year—boasts Freddy Madball. “Slow Drownâ€? features “Maybe, one day, we’ll figure out Davin Bernard, formerly of Kingdom how to actually get it seen by billions and currently of Philly’s Eaten Alive, of people,â€? Mad Joe laughs. “I enjoy whose gruff vocals command atten- the challenge.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł tion. “I was a big fan of hers,â€? Mad Joe

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY KYLE BERGFORS

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PHOTO BY JEN CRAY

WHETHER YOU'RE ,

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, THE NEXT TIME YOU FIND YOURSELF PARTYING, THESE CRUCIAL BANDS BETTER BE ON YOUR PLAYLIST!

THE FRIGHTS INTERVIEW WITH MIKEY CARNEVALE hile San Diego-based power-punk band The Frights serve a rowdy assortment of tunes, behind the upbeat tracks are vulnerable and personal lyrics.

This is especially true on Hypochondriac, the band’s third LP, out Aug. 24 on Epitaph Records. Vocalist and guitarist Mikey Carnevale forced himself to put out some of the band’s most heartfelt tunes to date.Â

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24 NEW NOISE

“It was incredibly hard for was a clear purpose behind me, actually,� Carnevale this updated musical styling. says. “I wasn’t used to pulling that emotion out of me and “The vocals are very clear, beshowing it to people—at least cause it’s a story—and it’s sad at not strangers.� times,� Carnevale explains. “Then again, a lot of You Are Going To Hypochondriac may have gone Hate This was sad, but we masked in a slightly different direction it behind distortion. This record than The Frights’ previous full- is a lot more upfront about length, 2016’s You Are Going To my issues.�

Hate This, with a little less surf punk, a little less doo-wop, and The lyrical content on the forthsome slower parts, but there coming LP is definitely more

serious in nature, but The Frights’ music is still catchy enough to belong on any summer playlist. The foot-tapping first single from Hypochondriac, “Me and We and I,â€? is out now, and with a sound as warm as a San Diego beach in July, it is a bona fide indie jam sure to make all listeners move and groove like revelers at a California dance party. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

EXCELLENT!

BY JOHN SILVA

MOM JEANS. INTERVIEW WITH ERIC BUTLER he highly anticipated second album from Berkeley emo pop darlings Mom Jeans., Puppy Love, dropped July 3 via Counter Intuitive Records. The album presents 10 heart-wrenching tracks that show why the band are at the forefront of the emo revival.

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While the lyrics on Puppy Love are somber in nature, vocalist, guitarist, and trombone player Eric Butler says that exploring these

feelings firsthand provided him with some relief and joy. “Just doing the band and recording the songs and playing them with everybody in Mom Jeans. is kind of like the therapy,� Butler says. “That’s how I stay positive.

I feel like at least writing the songs and the lyrics and having those thoughts and feelings and performing them, it kind of makes them real, and it makes me feel like I can address things. It feels

like I’m not just bottling everything up. It’s really therapeutic for me.�

really get weird with and do whatever you want and it doesn’t really affect the outcome of the album The song titles on Puppy Love stand as much,� he explains. “I think of in stark contrast to their lyrics, it as one of the few ways that we often playfully referencing pop can actually make people laugh culture franchises like “Grey’s and try to make the record have Anatomy,� “Star Wars,� and “The a lighthearted feel to it, even if the Office.� Butler says that the titles subject matter is a little heavier.� were a way to have fun with the album, to make it a bit lighter.

Despite the heavy subject matter, Puppy Love’s upbeat, noodley “I feel like it’s one of the aspects of collection of songs are a perfect creating an album that you can emo house party staple. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

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25

TRAPPIST INTERVIEW WITH PHIL VERA rappist are on a mission to use their gift of hardcore metal to deliver a critical message across the United States: no more corporate beer.

Trappist crafted for Ancient Brewing Tactics are the perfect soundtrack to a beer-doused house party, rowdy pub crawl, or high-brow craft brewery road trip.

The Los Angeles band’s debut album, Ancient Brewing Tactics, drops Aug. 17 on Relapse Records, and as the title implies, much of the album is about the band’s biggest passion: craft beer. This may seem like a gimmick, but the roots of this theme go beyond that of sheer novelty. Phil Vera—also of Crom and Despise You and formerly of -(16)- fame—explains that craft beer culture actually has a lot in common with the DIY music scene.

So, just how many beers did it take to create the album? Vera estimates that over the course of the nine months it took to finish writing and recording—and between the two members of the band who drink—it was a solid 200. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

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“A couple of us come from, like, a powerviolence, punk background of DIY kind of stuff,� he says, “which was all started with bands working together, doing splits together, doing this kind

PHOTO BY PAUL LEE

of thing. I think we see a perfect parallel with these craft beer places that are coming up that are sharing, collaborating, doing stuff almost the same way the scene used to do it before—

and the way it still does it now.

We saw it as a cool thing.�

Whether the listener is a beer snob or a fan of the cheap classics like PBR, the 21 fast, aggressive tracks

MASSIVE WAGONS INTERVIEW WITH BARRY “BAZ� MILLS feel the best way to get folk to check you out is to get in their head.

Catchy is catchy whether you like the tune or not,� Massive Wagons lead vocalist Barry “Baz� Mills says. “

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Catchy is the perfect word to describe the U.K.-based group, who dish out a lick-heavy brand of rock ’n’ roll sure to make listeners belt out the hooky lyrics at the top of their lungs. Their new full-length album, Full Nelson, is out Aug. 10 on Earache Records, and it’s just the latest addition to a series of records the band have put out that could easily be the high-energy, fist-pumping soundtrack to any raucous summer shindig.Â

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True to form, Massive Wagons’ live shows are loaded with the same youthful energy that listeners can expect from their recordings. “It’s always been, for us, about fun and engagement with a crowd,â€? Mills says of the band’s live performances. “I wanna have fun. I want everyone to have fun; people remember fun. It’s generally an hour or so onstage. We’ve been honored with a slot on someone’s stage, the least we can do is give it 110 percent. [We’re] often exhausted afterwards, but that feels like we’ve done a good job. It’s satisfying.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

THE DIRTY NIL INTERVIEW WITH LUKE BENTHAM t’s kind of my opinion that it’s a short life. You might as well have a little bit of fun—and sometimes, that involves fireworks,�

Luke Bentham, frontman of Canadian rock group The Dirty Nil, says of their latest music video.

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music. In particular, he believes an unhealthy romanticizing of legacy bands prevents people from enjoying and appreciating all the incredible acts who are emerging today. He is hopeful, however, that new technologies are giving artists a chance to get the recognition they deserve.

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Their video for “Bathed In Light�—a single off their upcoming album Master Volume, out Sept. 14 via Dine Alone Records—features all the antics followers of the band have come to expect: expressive outfits, bright lights, loud guitars, and, of course, fireworks and explosions. It is quite fitting for their larger-than-life sound, a brand of rock ’n’ roll so big that it seems impossible for a group of only three members to pull it off—yet, somehow, they do.

“I think that nostalgia and rock ’n’ roll have an unhealthy relationship,� Bentham says, “but I think that things like Spotify and Apple Music and Pandora and these streaming services are allowing people to discover new rock ’n’ roll easier, which is definitely a good stride in the name of progress and new trees in the forest rather than these massive old oaks that people keep banging on. It’s nice to get some sunshine for the lower shrubs.�

The raw energy and excitement displayed in the “Bathed In Light� video is a great representation of their live shows. As with all the best concerts, at a Dirty Nil show, the band and the audience feed off one another’s energy.

Bentham says this is one of the things that has given the trio the stamina to play over 350 shows in the past three years.

PHOTO BY ALAN SNODGRASS

“I’ve had times where I felt like I would fall over, I was just so tired from flying or whatever. Just not at my best,� Bentham says. “And as soon as I walked out and stepped up to the microphone and flipped the switches on my amps, it’s all gone. All that leaves, and—as cheesy as it sounds—it’s just the pure excitement of getting to do what we get to do. I find the energy of people who know the songs and sing and crowd-surf and whatever— just people enjoying what we’re doing

can sustain us through whatever wear and tear we’re currently experiencing at that point in the tour.�

The glam rock tendencies of The Dirty Nil may elicit comparisons to rock music from the ’70s or ’80s, but don’t be mistaken: although the band have a deep appreciation for some of rock ’n’ roll’s greats—The Who, Cheap Trick, Led Zeppelin, and the like—they try not to focus on the past.

As for Master Volume, fans can expect an even bigger sound than The Dirty Nil displayed on their first two LPs, 2016’s Higher Power and 2017’s Minimum R&B. “Master Volume is definitely a massive stride forward in terms of fidelity and overall power,� Bentham shares.

Producer John Goodmanson—whose resume includes work with The Blood Brothers, Sleater-Kinney, and Bikini Kill—came onboard to work on Mas“I think one of the biggest problems with ter Volume, and Bentham says that rock ’n’ roll—and rock ’n’ roll is, I’m Goodmanson’s contributions “really sure like many, my favorite thing in the maximized the strength of the band.â€? universe, but one of my qualms with it at this point in time is that people are Of course, some listeners may still always looking through the rearview prefer one of The Dirty Nil’s previous albums, and “that is very much so up window,â€? Bentham explains. to the listener,â€? Bentham says. “But I’m Bentham believes nostalgia to be very proud of what we’ve been able to an enemy of progress, and this point do—and its overall kickassness.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł of view informs his perspective on

PARTY FOOD STAPLE: Luke Bentham of The Dirty Nil: “Favorite party food has got to be pizza.� Eric Butler of Mom Jeans.: “Carrot sticks and hummus.�

Mikey Carnevale of The Frights: “I really like dips. When someone busts down the door and screams, “I bought seven-layer bean dip, motherfucker!� I tingle. Gotta get the right chips, though, or you’re gonna be wrist-deep in a bowl trying to salvage what remains of your Tostito.�

Phil Vera of Trappist: “The usual is always late-night pizza. That’s a standard. But if I had my choice, I’d probably go with chicken wings. Some badass barbecue chicken wings for party food and paired with an oatmeal stout, something really heavy.�

Baz Mills of Massive Wagons: “Old-school. Stuff on sticks arranged in a tinfoil potato hedgehog-style: cheese and pineapple, small sausages, and the like, pickled onions. If it’s on a stick, I’ll eat it.�

PARTY PLAYLIST PICK: Luke Bentham of The Dirty Nil: “‘I Believe In a Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness.�

Eric Butler of Mom Jeans.: “‘Every Morning’ by Sugar Ray or ‘Unwritten’ by Natasha Bedingfield.�

Mikey Carnevale of The Frights: “Anything by Sublime, because it immediately lets everyone know that I’m from San Diego.�

Phil Vera of Trappist: “Quiet Riot’s ‘Let’s Party All Night’—paired with an Olympia beer.�

Baz Mills of Massive Wagons: “You ain’t at a party till someone drops ‘I Am the Music Man.’�

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27

INTERVIEW WITH FOUNDER/OWNER RICH EVANS BY THOMAS PIZZOLA ost indie labels have an origin story in which a member of some scene is moved to put out records by bands they like. The label grows—sometimes with infamy and sometimes with fortune to follow.

For Orlando, Florida’s Total Punk Records—the purveyors of some of the finest gunk punk around—founder Rich Evans, who also drums for Golden Pelicans, turned this model on its head.

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“I came up with the idea for Total Punk in the summer of 2010,� Evans says. “I went on a solo two-month tour of the U.S. called ‘Everyone Gets Rich,’ setting up shows with bands I liked and slinging records. Sitting in the van by myself all day, I had a lot of time to think about life and soul-search. Instead, I spent the time coming up with a joke label that’s whole mission was to make customers upset by taking forever to ship them their preorders— let the fury build and pour itself out all over the internet. Once everyone was good and furious, send out their records with some lame, super-punk excuse for why it took me so long.

Gain forgiveness, then repeat. I wanted a name that matched the concept, so the idea of Total Punk was born.� “Fast forward six months: Personal And The Pizzas asked me to go on tour with them selling merch,� he continues. “Personal said, ‘Why don’t you put out a Pizzas record on Total Punk?’ I kept the pseudonym I was going to

28 NEW NOISE

use, Randall, and the idea for crudely-made covers, but the rest of the shenanigans were shelved, and seven years later, this joke label has 73 releases under its belt.�

Not every band is cut out to be a Total Punk band. Evans has some “standards� they must meet to become one of the few, the proud, the drunk. “I like my punk trashy and with big hooks, so I tend to lean toward that stuff,� Evans says. “The typical Total Punk band is always on the verge of implosion. At least one member is borrowing gear from another band on the bill, and they are never satisfied with the number of drink tickets they are given.� And don’t expect CDs or downloads, because Evans keeps it totally old-school. “Total Punk always has and always will be a vinyl label,� he asserts. He runs the label according to a very simple and refreshing motto: “Do it ’til it’s not fun anymore and then find something else to do,� he says. “My business plan is to try to keep my head above water. Total Punk is a handshake label.�

In addition, Total Punk’s releases all have a very distinct look. “For the singles, all covers are hand-stamped.

I get the stamps made at Acme Stamp [& Sign] down the street from my house,� he explains. “The original idea was that stamping the covers would make it cheap and easy, plus it would make my stuff immediately recognizable. I wanted the label to

have visual recognition, so people would know it’s a Total Punk release as soon as they saw it.�

much fun to work on, and we are planning on doing them quarterly from here on out. For this next one, it’s looking like we will even have a full film crew and commentators.�

Evans also curated a series of festivals—though “curatedâ€? may be way too fancy a word to describe Total “I can now add wrestling promoter Punk’s Fuck Off Fest. He ran three to my resume,â€? Evans concludes. “If fests between 2014 and 2016 at there’s something you want to do, you Will’s Pub in Orlando. “I love Flor- owe it to yourself to at least try it.â€? đ&#x;’Ł ida and wanted a chance to show off my state and my town,â€? he says. “Plus, it was a great way to showcase the label, get a bunch of Total Punk bands down to Orlando. It [was] like a company retreat.â€?

Total Punk will continue to exist as long as Evans sees fit, but that doesn’t mean he’s resting on his laurels. “As far as what is next, I’m starting a new label right now,� he confirms. “The idea is pretty much I want to pick out some artists I really respect and love and just let them give me a record of whatever they want. It’s gonna fall on the weirder side of things.�

In addition, Evans has started promoting another form of live event that shares many similarities with his beloved punk rock: pro wrestling. “I think punk and wrestling are a great match, which is why I started Total Punk Wrestling,� he says. “We had our first event in April and have a second planned for Oct. 14. Five or six matches, plus three bands, in the parking lot of Will’s Pub. It’s been so

AD

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

NEW NOISE 31

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST TONY REFLEX

BY JANELLE JONES flex mentions. “Really, really something special. Uncle Steve.�

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n a perfect world, this would just be a fun article about Orange County heroes Adolescents, who started back in 1980, and their latest album, Cropduster, released July 20 on Concrete Jungle. Unfortunately, just a short time before the record’s release and a few days after the band’s East Coast tour in late June, one of their founding members, bassist Steve Soto, passed away at age 54.

One of the best-liked and most revered faces in punk and hardcore, Soto’s untimely death hit hard—for fans and peers alike. “They called

all of the sorrow and deep loss, Adolescents decided to go ahead with their July and August European tour, which had been booked in support of Cropduster long before this tragic occurrence. “We’re gonna finish what we started,� Reflex asserts. “Steve wouldn’t have it any other way. In all the years, he had never missed a show, so it was a pretty big deal for him to always play and to always finish what you start.�

Reflex shares a great term for the incredible bond he and his favorite friend shared: “rock wife.�

It denotes a special relationship between bandmates, one in which they always had each other’s backs—one that stands the test of time. “More and more of our voices are going,� the vocalist says wistfully. him the nicest guy in punk,� Ado- “We lost a voice. We fucking did. And lescents cofounder and vocalist sometimes, the voice we lose is my “He was very professional in that way,� he adds.

Tony Reflex relates. “[He] was such rock wife.� a sweetheart.� “From childhood, we were always Considering all the time Soto put In detail—because it’s worth it—Re- trying to help each other,� he elab- into the new record’s creation, flex explains, “I’ve known him most orates, “anything from catching Reflex says “not doing anything of my life, and he was a really each other when we fell emotional- to promote the new songs� wasn’t good man, very sweet, very caring.� ly to catching each other when we an option. “He was a pro,� the frontman says of Soto. “You don’t The two musicians had known one fell physically.� do it that way. He wouldn’t have another for 40 years, since they were teenagers, and started Adolescents Of the outpouring of feelings and sup- stood for it. No way. We have to after Soto left Agent Orange because port from mourners, Reflex says, “To honor those wishes and finish what he wanted more of an opportunity to me, it’s nice to see the love, because we started.� write and play his own material. “He for me, I’ve loved this guy since I was didn’t have children, but he was one a kid.� He gets more personal, confid- As for what they started, Cropduster of the best parents I’d ever seen,� Re- ing, “Right now, I’m damaged.� But for is a scathing, 18-track rebuke of the United States’ current administration. Reflex says that this modern time isn’t so different from when the band first began, in an era when so many groups forged their way railing against Ronald Reagan. It’s similar, he explains, but not identical. “There’s this almost blessing from the president of white power groups and conflict,� Reflex notes, adding that “it’s just a lot more extreme� than the early ’80s.

Adolescents’ members grew up “right in the heart of John Wayne County,� the vocalist says. “Orange County was really super conservative.� In comparison, now, “I don’t really consider this conservative at all,� he adds. “I don’t think there’s a true republican who supports this president. The damage is done.� “So, yeah,� Reflex reiterates, “I’m not a big Trump fan.� “When Steve and I went into this [album], it was like, ‘We’re gonna make a record, and we’re gonna say what we feel needs to be said at a time that’s very frightening,’� he explains.

Reflex mentions that Adolescents’ records have always been political, but this one was timed almost perfectly. Someone in the music community had to make a strong statement about the current state of affairs, he says, “and I thought we made one pretty well. We spent a lot of time on these songs.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

32 NEW NOISE

PHOTOS BY ALAN SNODGRASS

NEW NOISE 33

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MURDER BY D E A T H

PHOTO BY ALAN SNODGRASS

KINGS OF THE FINAL FRONTIER

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST ADAM TURLA BY JOHN B. MOORE hile Louisville, Kentucky, band Murder By Death have definitely flirted with concept records before, they’ve set the bar pretty high on The Other Shore, out on Bloodshot Records Aug. 24.

For their eighth record, the band created a Space Western about a ravaged Earth and its fleeing populace.

the frontier and helped give Turla a focus for the songs on The Other Shore. “We’ve done eight albums now and a lot of different stuff,� he says. “We’ve got a few albums that I would call long-form narratives like this one. I really like that method when it makes sense, because it gives you direction to work in. It helps to organize my brain know“I call it a Space Western, because ing what the function of each song it takes the sounds we’ve been is and [asking], ‘What are we missworking on for 20 years and ing?’ I just think it helps us to make makes them sound further out,� a stronger album. Sometimes, you vocalist and guitarist Adam Turla just don’t have a theme that works says. “There are some strange together and merges the songs. sonic situations we have set up. It You don’t want to force it, but a sounds, at times, like a spaceship story emerged early on and just hurtling through space. We were kept coming, and about halfway trying to think about the vastness through writing, it became apparand the time and how we translate ent we had a full album emerging that to music. The simplest way to of linked songs.� sum it up is that it starts on Earth and ends in space and is one per- While The Other Shore still sounds son spending a four-year journey very much like a Murder By Death by himself and how terrible that album, the band went out of their sounds. So, it speaks to isolation, way to tamp down their signature which is always a Western theme.� Americana sound. “We’ve been in this band now for 18 years, and The vastness of space acted as a we’re lucky that we have a very great stand-in for the vastness of flexible sound and have done

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a lot of things over the years,�

Turla says, “but I think, lately, the Americana side of what we do is not a focus right now. There are so many Americana bands out there right now. I’ve got fatigue just hearing it, so we wanted to downplay that part of our band. When we first started out, no one was really playing Americana, but as a band, you have to think about ways of keeping things fresh. Now, it seems everybody is playing that type of sound, so let’s see if we can put a new spin on it. We hope that is something that we succeed in.�

On a personal level, Turla says he hasn’t been this excited about an album in a long time. “It’s very fun to play, and it’s got a lot of different sounds on it,� he says. “I think every song matters for a different reason.� To help decide which songs to keep for the record, Turla and his bandmates implemented a method they named Dream Hammer. “It’s a game we play in the van when we’re driving way too long,� he explains. “We basically take an actor, and we’ll pull up their IMDb

and go through their entire career and say ‘pass’ [or] ‘fail’—we Dream Hammer them.� “So, we took that method and applied it to these songs,� he shares. “I said, ‘I don’t want to waste time on songs that I don’t think you guys think are great, and I’m too close to these.’ So, I sat down and played them the songs on guitar. I would play five at a time, and they would say: ‘Yes, that should be on the record,’ ‘I don’t know, I kind of like it,’ or ‘That sounds like a B-side to me’ or ‘It needs more work.’ It was really effective for harmony in the group, and I liked it. For me as a songwriter, it can be difficult after you’ve put a ton of work into it to have the band go ‘nah.’ You strive to do better. It was a really cool system. I’d recommend it to any songwriter.�

Fans can hear the results of the Dream Hammer system themselves by picking up The Other Shore at the end of August and by catching Murder By Death on tour, where they’ll be through much of the fall. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

NEW NOISE 35

INTERVIEW WITH PRODUCER DANNY FUENTES BY JANELLE JONES ne of the more intriguing and experimental artists to come out of the fertile punk grounds of 1980s Orange County was Rozz Williams and his punk-goth hybrid band, Christian Death. Williams’ distinct life story is a great topic to delve into, and Danny Fuentes—owner of Lethal Amounts, a gallery in Los Angeles—is doing just that. “Spiritual Cramp: A Rozz Williams Story� is a documentary that explores the artist’s extraordinary life, art, struggle with depression, untimely death, and influence on generations to come.

O

“I’m a big fan of Christian Death and Rozz Williams,� Fuentes says.

He relates that he had done an art show exhibiting the work of Williams, “things that he’s done, photos, lyrics, just everything we could get our hands on.� This exhibit led to a relationship with the band’s other original members, including guitarist Rikk Agnew of Adolescents, who joined the band early on after realizing something exceptional was happening there.

Fuentes, already drawn to post-punk and goth, realized there were tons of straight-up punk documentaries but not many goth or post-punk features.

He mentions with a laugh, “I don’t even know if The Cure have a documentary on them other than VH1 ‘Behind the Music’ or something like that.�

PHOTO BY EDWARD COLVER

core scene is significant. He didn’t go the easy route and hide his identity to fit in; he wore dresses and makeup, expressing his true self. “He was a teenage boy in a dress, playing with hardcore bands in Orange County.

You can’t be more out of place than that,� Fuentes says. “Now, we have a lot of words that would describe the type of person [Williams represented]: genderfluid, non-binary, androgynous, all these words that exist for people to have some sense of identity, what they associate with.

Back then, it was either ‘you’re gay’ or ‘you’re straight’—and if you’re gay, you might get beat up.�

Fuentes says “Spiritual Crampâ€? is less a “rock-bioâ€? fluff piece and more a truly interesting tale. As he has no background in filmmaking and no major funding for the film, it is more of “a passion project.â€? He first mentioned the idea to the original band members and Frontier founder Lisa Fancher, and they were all very supportive. So far, he has just been gathering as much photography, footage, and as many interviews as he can, “anything to draw some sort of a timeline and start understanding what [‌] topics I wanna focus on.â€? “Ultimately,â€? he concludes, “I wanna point out that Rozz was more than just a frontman to some goth band.

He was a true artist who did a lot more than Only Theatre of Pain.� Fuentes wants to try to understand Williams’ complexities. “He was always battling depression and ultimately killed himself. Could that have been avoided?� he muses. Also of great personal importance, Fuentes says, is “to point out he was a gay man in a hypermasculine community and rose above that and set an example for disenchanted young gay people who didn’t have a hero who really spoke to them.�

At first, Fuentes considered embarking on a documentary that rather than speak about a whole Christian Death,� he says. “Sometimes, would cover the entire genre. When music genre,� he says. “The story is just it gets overlooked. I think that’s what the breadth, scope, and difficulty of more compelling.�

I’m trying to do with the documentary. that endeavor hit, he realized it was It wasn’t just another punk band. It a bit “overzealous,� concluding that “There’s a lot of layers to Christian wasn’t a goth band, necessarily.� making a film solely about Williams Death,� Fuentes elaborates, citing and Christian Death would be better. “the fact that [Williams] committed “Oftentimes, things are either magi“All the Christian Death members are suicide [and] was dealing with de- cal or they don’t work,� he adds. “In here in L.A., and it’s a very L.A. topic. pression; they had a breakthrough this case, I think this first record was Nobody’s touched that,� he explains. album, [1982’s Only Theatre of Pain on magical—striking.�

Besides, it would be even more Frontier Records]; they lost the name personal to him. “I love [them] and to a member of the band.â€? Then, Williams’ identity as an out gay man “Spiritual Crampâ€? is still in production. what Williams represents to me, and there’s the band’s artistic original- in the hypermasculine early ’80s Donate to the project at lethalI can speak about that firsthand ity. “There’s a lot of sophistication to Southern California punk and hard- amounts.com. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

36 NEW NOISE

ROLL CREDITS 09.21.18

info and pre-order at fatwreck.com

PEACE and LOVE 08.31.18

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST PARKER CANNON AND DRUMMER RYAN TORF BY DEREK NIELSEN efore discussing The Story So “A lot of people can relate, and everyFar’s fourth LP, Proper Dose, one has their own experience and vocalist Parker Cannon of- way of dealing with it,” Cannon says. fers a disclaimer: “I don’t want to “Hopefully, people struggling with simifurther proliferate and romanticize lar issues will see that there’s a way out.” these things that almost killed me.”

Fortunately, Cannon was able to find The Bay Area pop punk quintet have his way out through the writing of Proper been touring and recording nonstop Dose. Dropping Sept. 21 via Pure Noise since they were teenagers, and Records, the album marks the end of a during that time, Cannon’s persona lengthy and arduous recording process became a subject of speculation for The Story So Far. Sessions for Proper and scrutiny within the underground Dose began at The Farm Studios in Britcommunity. But with the band’s new- ish Columbia in April of 2017, but part est release, that story is changing. As way into the process, the band decided the title suggests, Proper Dose deals they wanted to take a break and do heavily with addiction. more work on the songs.

B

38 NEW NOISE

PHOTOGRAPHY BY WHITNEY NEWELL

NEW NOISE

39

“I FELT PIGEONHOLED INTO WRITING ABOUT GIRLS [AND] BREAKUPS, WHICH WAS THE ANTITHESIS OF HOW I ACTUALLY WANTED TO RELATE TO PEOPLE.� “There were multiple moments where we had to take a step back and recognize that we just weren’t happy with our progress,� drummer Ryan Torf explains. “We basically just kept working at it and abandoned some of our ideas that felt like they were being forced at that point. Having a longer timeframe helped us out tremendously, because it really allowed us to rework ideas and find new ones until we were all satisfied with the collection of songs.�

most clearly distinguishes Proper Dose from the rest of the band’s catalog.

For example, “Line� is almost entirely instrumental and sheds traditional song structure, instead using subtle guitar effects and drums to evoke a sense of tranquility. The same goes for the extended instrumental outro on “If I Fall.� These moments force the listener to slow down and come to terms with each musical phrase rather than rushing to the next big chorus.

The band came home and, a few Philosopher John Stuart Mill once months later, returned to The Pan- said tranquility and excitement aren’t da Studios in Fremont, California, contradictory but, in reality, are natural to finish recording with longtime allies: one simply prepares you for the producer and friend Sam Pura. The other. Album opener and title track, completed tracks were sent out to “Proper Dose,� sets the ominous stage with be mixed by Eric Valentine, whose a dry guitar strumming dark chords, belaundry list of diverse credits includes fore breaking into a heavily atmospheric everyone from Queens Of The Stone verse, creating an eerie backdrop for Age, Taking Back Sunday, and Death Cannon to exorcise his demons. of while being alone and getting recorded for this record,� he says. “It high. I felt pigeonholed into writ- was quite strange—and awesome— ing about girls [and] breakups, actually singing instead of yelling. I which was the antithesis of how I truly believe it opened the door for actually wanted to relate to peo- so many more opportunities when it ple. Writing about addiction and comes to writing and recording songs the personal crucible that follows in the future.� instead of my whiny teenage feelings helped me through the “My greatest hope is that people who withdrawals and allowed me to listen to this record will understand articulate and form a much more that we are not a ‘pop punk’ band,� relatable and timeless narrative.�

Cannon concludes. “My hope is that after listening to Proper Dose, you reCannon used this time to really alize that we have grown into an exexplore his role as a vocalist and ceptional five-piece band who wrote “emphasize the sheer amount of an undeniably good record that will melodies and harmonies I wrote and stand the test of time.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł From Above 1979 to Maroon 5, Gwen However, this is immediately followed Stefani, and Smash Mouth. Known for by “Keep This Up,â€? which is classic producing huge-sounding records The Story So Far: a fast tempo, inrooted in punk and hardcore, Valen- stantly memorable vocals, and a tine added depth and dimension to guitar riff that shines like sunlight songs that were already experimen- reflecting off the San Francisco Bay. tal for The Story So Far, expanding Finding this happy medium between their sound in a way that doesn’t exploring new musical territory and explicitly draw attention to itself. The maintaining their signature sound is acoustic guitars ringing out in the something the band are optimistic opening notes of “Let It Go,â€? coupled about achieving. with Torf’s syncopated drums, create a new texture for the band, evoking the “I think one of the most significant acbest moments of early ’00s blink-182. complishments for us,â€? Torf says, “was finding new territory to explore in a “The majority of the songs use sounds time where it was easy to feel conor instruments that were new for us,â€? fined by our old music and people’s Torf explains. “Some are obvious, expectations for us.â€? while others were put in more subtly to help create different atmospheres.â€? “Proper Dose, to me, means balance,â€?

Cannon elaborates. “Finding that The use of atmosphere and sonic tex- level ground came from introspecture to evoke mood is the aspect that tion, which I had almost too much

40 NEW NOISE

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JUST LIKE STARTING OVER

BY JASON SCHREURS STARTING A NEW MUSICAL PROJECT AFTER BEING LONG ASSOCIATED WITH A CERTAIN BAND—OR BANDS—CAN BE A DAUNTING TASK. LUCKILY, FOR MUSICIANS SUCH AS JASON SHEVCHUK OF KID DYNAMITE AND NONE MORE BLACK—WHO HAS JOKINGLY NAMED HIS LATEST PROJECT FORMER MEMBER—THE APPREHENSION ABOUT CREATING SOMETHING NEW WAS OVERPOWERED BY THE NEED TO CONSTANTLY EXPLORE AND CREATE. WHETHER IT’S FORMER MIXTAPES MEMBER MAURA WEAVER COLLABORATING WITH ASIAN MAN RECORDS OWNER MIKE PARK IN OGIKUBO STATION OR A GAGGLE OF MELODIC HARDCORE LEGENDS FORMING NEW JERSEY SUPERGROUP BEACH RATS, PUNK PEDIGREE IS ONLY PART OF THE PUZZLE—THE PROJECT ALSO NEEDS TO BE AWESOME!

BEACH RATS he term “punk supergroup� has been forced on many bands who happen to have notable members. In the case of New Jersey’s Beach Rats—featuring members of Lifetime, The Bouncing Souls, and Bad Religion—it was less about assembling a dream team of hardcore superstars and more about playing music with friends and neighbors. “Dude, we all live in the same area. That’s the biggest reason we are doing this; we all live 20 minutes away from each other,� explains vocalist Ari Katz, best known for his melodic bellows in Lifetime. “I’ve been friends with the guys from The Bouncing Souls forever, and we all live at the beach, so we just went for it.�

T

The band’s debut EP, Wasted Time, was released on July 27 via Bridge Nine Records. According to Katz, the impetus for the fast melodic hardcore of Beach Rats came from a Vision tribute show he played with guitarist Pete Steinkopf and bassist Brian Kienlen of The Souls and local drummer Danny Windas. “It all started with this band Vision, one of the best bands ever. The singer Dave [Franklin] passed away, and they did a benefit tribute show,� Katz shares. “Pete called me one night and asked if I wanted to do it, because Lifetime and The Souls both couldn’t get it together. So, we practiced once and learned five covers and played the show, and it was so much fun.�

42 NEW NOISE

From there, Kienlen raised the bar even more when he told Katz that Brian Baker of Bad Religion, Minor Threat, and Dag Nasty fame was living right down the street and looking to start another hardcore band. “We talked about it and talked about it, and I thought it was one of those things that would never happen,�

Katz says. “Then, Pete called one day and said we should practice, so we got together, and that’s the first time I met Brian Baker. We just started jelling right away.�

INTERVIEW WITH ARI KATZ these guys all the time,� Katz says.

PHOTO BY JOSH CASUCCIO

Katz says there was no pressure when starting Beach Rats. It was all about fun and friends and playing music together. “I swear to god, we just said, ‘Let’s write some songs.’ There were no expectations,â€? he says. “I guess it’s a big deal, because it’s Brian Baker playing ‘Let’s do this or that.’ The only thing we “All I want to do is play in bands and in a hardcore band again, but we were wanted to do was play fast songs with make records. That’s all I care about, just practicing and writing songs. Then, mosh parts,â€? he says. “But as soon and that’s what we’re doing with we spent a couple bucks and record- as we started writing, everyone just Beach Rats.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł ed for a day, then we just said, ‘Let’s brought in their styles and it turned send it out.’ The weird thing is when we into whatever it turned into. I’m sure announced the band, before we even people are going to compare it to signed to Bridge Nine Records, that’s Lifetime and The Bouncing Souls, but when people started calling us a ‘punk I can’t do anything about that.â€? supergroup.’ Supergroup? I just wanted it to be a group.â€?

First and foremost, Beach Rats are the result of longstanding friendships.

If listeners want to compare Beach Aside from the addition of Baker to Rats to their members’ other bands, the fold, the band’s members have Katz says it’s bound to happen and always hung out together, just never it’s OK. Everyone in the band brings in in the same band. “Maybe people their respective styles, but the result might find it suspicious what we’re was not preconceived. “We didn’t say, doing for some reason, but I see

FORMER MEMBER t has been eight years since vocalist and guitarist Jason Shevchuk released the last None More Black album. Since then, he has only played a handful of live shows, as work and family commitments took priority. With his cleverly titled new project, Former Member, also featuring acclaimed rock producer Will Yip on drums, Shevchuk has once again been thrust into the spotlight— whether he’s ready for it or not.

I

see,maybeoncewedoanotheralbum,we’ll also play live. Will and I both have so much going on, though, that it might be difficult.�

Former Member’s first album, Old Youth, was released on July 13 via Yip’s label, Memory Music. Despite a fervent base of Kid Dynamite and None More Black fans watching the gravel-voiced Shevchuk’s every move—and lately, there haven’t been many moves at all—the New Jersey punk icon hasn’t let the pressure of his previous efforts weigh on him. In fact, he’s put enough distance between his past and present that he underestimates how much people still care about his emotional punk music.

“I currently have no interest in touring or playing shows,� Shevchuk explains. “I don’t have a band. It’s just me and Will, and in order to do it live, I’d need to put a band together, and I just don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to be onstage playing the songs alone either, so that’s “When I approached Will about doing this just all out of the question. I do want to do record, I was originally going to record it, another Former Member album and—we’ll put it on Bandcamp, maybe do one post on Instagram, and that would be it. It

wasn’t until Will said he’d put it out on his right back into the musician life. “It’s very label on vinyl that I realized there could challenging, I have to be honest,â€? he says. be a physical element to this,â€? Shevchuk “This record is already getting a warm says. “But it’s still very loose. If people like reception, and it’s challenging me to ask if I it, great; if not, I’m going to keep doing it. want to play shows. I’m thinking about who It’s just something that I really don’t put I would get to play with me when the time a lot of thought into. I just really enjoy is right. I quickly shut those thoughts down, writing and recording.â€? though, because they are going against my plan, so it is difficult. I think I’d like to start If anything, the real pressure came when working on another record first and then he decided to record the album himself, see what happens.â€? đ&#x;’Ł something Shevchuk had never done before. The result is a layered album with a more melodic, rocked-out sound than Shevchuk has delivered before. “Most of the pressure was just around getting a good signal so when it was mixed it didn’t sound like total shit,â€? he laughs.

Shevchuk says that though he has no plans to take Former Member on the road, it has been very difficult not to jump

OGIKUBO STATION

social media post by a mutual friend brought Asian Man Records owner Mike Park and former Mixtapes vocalist and guitarist Maura Weaver together for a recording session that blossomed into a full-on recording project called Ogikubo Station. Now, the band’s debut album, We Can Pretend Like—out Aug. 24 via Asian Man—is poised to please fans of the duo’s former bands and anyone stoked on melodic indie punk sounds. According to Weaver and Park, the pressure to do something new and different helped fuel their creativity.

A

“I’ve realized that, for my own sanity, I need to make music and be creative PHOTO BY MARYAM HASSAN

and just work toward making things that I like—music that makes me happy,�

Weaver explains. “Music is good when it’s expression and not usually [good] when it’s made out of worry for approval. So, my goal within the past year or two has been to keep working on music no matter what, even if I feel anxiety.�

Along with founding Asian Man, Park forged a successful solo career after several years of providing saxophone and vocals for Skankin’ Pickle, the band he is still most known for after all of these years. For him, forming Ogikubo Station wasn’t nearly as daunting as first going solo in 2004. “When I first put out my solo stuff, the comparisons to

INTERVIEW WITH JASON SCHEVCHUK

Skankin’ Pickle bothered me, because I was just doing singer-songwriter stuff. I am always going to be compared to ska, because that’s what I did when I was younger and that was my most successful thing,� Park says. “I love ska, but my solo project was so different. I couldn’t understand why people couldn’t differentiate between the two, but I understand that now, and I just don’t care. I’m just playing music to have fun.�

The result of this laidback approach is a multilayered, 11-song album of melodic indie rock and punk that defies neat categorization. With help from notable musicians including Jeff Rosenstock on keyboard, Dan Potthast

INTERVIEW WITH MIKE PARK AND MAURA WEAVER on steel guitar and keyboard, and three members of Kitty Kat Fan Club, Park and Weaver took a collaborative approach that brought new life to the songs. “Working with Mike has been similar to some of my previous bands,�

Weaver says, “in that Mike doesn’t like to take things very seriously: he likes to be spontaneous when it comes to writing and our shows and wants to make music that he would listen to.

But it’s also different in that he is more productivity-oriented than some of my previous bands, so it’s really fun to write music with him.�

Park agrees that working with Weaver was a pleasure, citing their relationship as more of a friendship than a professional one. “It was super easy to work with Maura, and there was no tension,�

Park says. “She’s funny, and she’s a good friend, so it’s fun to hang out more than anything. It’s not like a business partnership. We always look forward to being able to hang out and play music.�

As for the pressure of Ogikubo Station being “the new Mike Park project,� Park says he has gotten over the expectations that come with each new release and is content just knowing there are still listeners out there who care. “I still want everything new I put out to do well, but I’m also realistic that I’m almost 50 and it’s not the most ideal time to try to make it big in music,� he laughs. “It’s just for fun. I’m excited about this album, and I think it’s really good. I’m sure everyone says that about their projects, but I really like it and I’m proud of it. I just hope people hear it and are as

NEW NOISE 43

stoked about it as I am.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

LOUD & GRIMY SLUDGE, DOOM, and NOISE

PHOTO BY JEN CRAY

44 NEW NOISE

INTERVIEW WITH COREY BARHORST AND ANDREW FIDLER BY HUTCH

R

eemerging, again, from tumultuous times, Black Tusk return with their fifth album, T.C.B.T., via Season Of Mist on Aug. 17.

Upon seeing the cover, the presentation is striking. John Baizley of Savannah, Georgia, brethren Baroness has provided art for the majority of Black Tusk’s LPs and a few EPs. Instead, T.C.B.T. features Black Tusk’s oft tattooed adaptation of Elvis Presley’s TCB—or “Taking Care of Business�—lightning logo, amended to reflect the band’s name: “Taking Care of Black Tusk.� This choice intentionally coincides with the band’s move to a new label after a tenure with Relapse. Brian Mercer—a longtime collaborator on tour posters, shirt designs, and the cover for the 2013 EP, Tend No Wounds—supplied the strippeddown approach. “We didn’t want the flowery, full-blown artwork,� guitarist and vocalist Andrew Fidler explains. “We were making a dark, gritty record, and we want the artwork to reflect that.�

Bassist and vocalist Corey Barhorst adds, “The spray paint stencil [featured on our road gear] worked. We wanted the record cover to reflect what the band has been through in the last fear years—and the sound, a rawer punk rock kind of thing.�

The throwback to Xerox-style hardcore flyers of the ’80s is applicable to the album’s direction.

Fidler and Barhorst quickly rehash the band’s lineup: Barhorst was added after the death of founding bassist Jon Athon in 2014, who recorded with Black Tusk for 2016’s Pillars of Ash but passed before the record’s release. Barhorst played on that tour and began writing with Fidler and founding drummer James May. “Corey was very involved in writing of T.C.B.T.,�

Fidler notes, “and Chris [‘Scary’ Adams] recorded it and mixed it.� When the trio began rehearsing for their upcoming tours, they asked Adams to join on second guitar. Caught up?

Black Tusk rise as a new band: two guitars, less sludge metal, more raw punk, and some added bells and whistles like keyboard and synth. Fidler and Barhorst sound reinvigorated and ready to do what they do best: consistent touring. Black Tusk

shows are vigorous and intense. While there is no mistaking that T.C.B.T. is a Black Tusk record in attitude and sound, the vibe is stripped-down rock ’n’ roll—although tracks like “Scalped,� “Agali,� and “Rest With the Dead� embody thunderous metal traits that will sate any longtime fan. “Lab Rat� rests on a jangly, dirty bassline with guitars screeching in, while “Whispers� is a triumphant blitz over familiar Savannah sounds.

“What we lack in technical prowess, we make up for with raw emotion,� Fidler interjects. “I wouldn’t even say ‘what we lack,’� Barhorst amends. “I would say what we prefer.� “What we strive for is not that,� Fidler finalizes.

Regarding the band’s broadening lyrical subject matter—i.e. the third eye—Fidler offers that they are “reflecting inward as we get older and our situation changes A new aspect of Black Tusk on T.C.B.T. are and our society [changes]—seeing who the keyboard and synth parts. Nothing you really are and what kind of person you overt; the atmospheric elements are snug- are and how to do that with all that is gogled in mostly at the beginning or end of ing on around you. It’s an amalgamation a few tracks, adding texture. The result is of that. With all the fucked up shit happena refreshing flexing and stretching of old ing in the world, do you turn a blind eye? muscles while executing a stripped-down Or what can you do about it?� formula. Also new is the opener, “A Perfect View of Absolutely Nothing,� a spoken Barhorst adds, “The last couple years, the word piece with a noise bed. This and the band, all of us, have had our personal issecond track, “Closed Eye,� refer to the sues, and the whole growing old part—life third eye and opening minds. becomes apparent. We didn’t set out to write this record as any kind of memorial Remarking on the intro, Barhorst com- to Athon, but that is always looming over ments that he had written a keyboard us, our music, and our thoughts. That’s intro, but “we needed something more. We always in the back of our mind.� have been experimenting in our live shows with samples at certain breaks in the set. “We lost two of our really good friends and James always has a knack for coming up mentors this year to cancer,� Fidler notes with something interesting. So, we would sadly. “That’s definitely weighing in a lot. record him talking. We wanted to do some- The lyrical content on the record is about thing with that for the start of the record. loss. With Black Tusk’s past, it is inescapable.�

James, Scary, and I messed with [the lyrics] as we recorded. One is whispered, one is “We live with it, but we don’t live it,� Fidler adds. spoken—different vocal tracks delayed of off each other. It sets the tone of what we With titles such as “Ghosts Roam,� “Rest wanted the record to have.�

With the Dead,â€? “Whispers,â€? and “Ill At Ease,â€? the unsettled phantoms seem On playing with Adams, Fidler adds, “It evident on T.C.B.T., but Barhorst corrects has been a whole lot of fun. Chris has the proposition. He explains that “Ghosts been around Black Tusk since the incep- Roam,â€? while not being a direct protest tion. He has been around the whole time. song, was inspired by the Dakota Pipeline Playing with him is natural and easy. It’s a coverage inundating television screens lot of fun, because now, there are two of us in 2016 and 2017. Especially in this age doing a bunch of jackass guitar stuff.â€? of barrages of images and information, many topical options sprout from the Barhorst expands on the injection that horrors and vile actions people visit upon fuels Black Tusk’s new energy, explaining, each other. For those making dark, angry “When we set out to start writing this, we music—be it punk, metal, or a mix—that were listening to what other bands in our negativity will often manifest. genre are doing. There are some metal bands that play circles around us. We “I give props to people who can write a come from the punk rock thing. So, we happy song,â€? Barhorst concludes. “I don’t are embracing that more, and we are all know how to.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł stoked on that.â€?

NEW NOISE 45

KIRK WINDSTEIN OF CROWBAR

SPOT: The Doom Doc

INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR CONNOR MATHESON BY GRANT SKELTON

DOOM.

Say it out loud. Let its utterance issue from your bowels up into your gullet. Simply speaking the word, giving verbal heed to it, describes its meaning. The meaning of the utterance—the layers beneath the word itself—falls like a sentence of execution upon the ears of the condemned.

Thrash is for beer, headbanging, and pizza. Power is for fantasy fanatics and cosplayers. But doom has no collective identity. Because the word “doom� doesn’t just describe a certain genre. It describes an idea, an atmosphere, even a feeling. Doom is concerned with finality, with certainty.

And thus, it follows that music constructed around such an abstract would have a particular weight, a nature abrasive enough to ward off casual listeners—and reward those who loyally find solace in it.

DEADidea Productions and director Connor Matheson have harked to this exact sound, giving rise to the appropriately titled “The Doom Doc.� “I first discovered doom, stoner, and sludge when I was an angsty teenager,� Matheson recalls. “I grew up in a very rundown ex-mining town in Yorkshire called Barnsley, and the music really spoke to me at the time, as the place had a real small-town mentality I felt I didn’t fit in with.� “The Doom Doc� exudes a weathered but indomitable DIY ethic. “This project was a real labor of love,� Matheson explains. “It was largely funded out of our own pockets while working minimum-wage jobs and through a crowd-funder.�

Much of the film’s context revolves around Holy Spider Promotions, a devoted doom promoter in Sheffield, U.K. “I’ve known Joe [Allen] who runs Holy Spider for a while before we made the film,� Matheson

BAND - 11 PARANOIAS

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says. “We started documenting the house party gigs and had a great story developing as Holy Spider—a doom promotion collective—was putting on all-dayer Doomlines in the shadow of Tramlines, a mainstream inner-city festival, and things were getting tough.�

Among the documentary’s interviewees is original Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward.

This particular interview was exceptionally difficult to acquire, but that issue was resolved by collective DIY ingenuity. “[Ward] was based in Los Angeles and not coming back to the U.K. anytime soon, and we were all the way here in Sheffield,� Matheson says. “As a way around this, we got in touch with Billy [Goate] who runs a killer online magazine called Doomed & Stoned. He passed us on to two of his contributors

based in L.A. who were up for doing the interview for us. It was a great example of the DIY doom community coming together across continents!�

In addition, fans can expect interviews and performances from Primitive Man, Slabdragger, Kurokuma, Sea Bastard, Conan, and Crowbar. Furthermore, Matheson says that he isn’t finished documenting DIY exploits. “There may be a follow-up film about doom in Japan coming up soon, so keep your eyes peeled!â€? he teases. “I’m also working on a film about bassline and DIY venues here in Sheffield and releasing other short docs about young people and alternative lifestyles.â€? “The Doom Docâ€? is available now at thedoomdoc.bigcartel. com. đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

works, and if it doesn’t—hey, we tried it. Let’s go back here and go a different route.�

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL MOREKIN

BY CALEB R NEWTON PHOTO BY JAMIE HEIM

he Pennsylvania noise rock band tile are a labor of love for vocalist and guitarist Michael Morekin, bassist and vocalist Ray Gurz, and their newest addition, drummer Michael Dumoff. The band have continued for some 12 years at this point, and their second full-length album, Come On Home, Stranger, drops Aug. 17 via Limited Appeal Records.

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Feeling like the title of the album suggests an inherent dose of down-to-earth realism would be the right path. Morekin describes tile as a dynamic life project that has grown alongside him. “Every step of the way has been a learning process for me personally,� he explains. “At first, we were setting up one mic and playing the songs, and there’s your record—that kind of thing. Then, it progressed. We were meeting new people, meeting people who have recording studios, and they were giving us different ways to maybe go about doing things.� “I’m here to learn too,� Morekin adds. “I’m not going to say I’m a musical genius by any means, so I always like to see what other people suggest and run with it. If it works, it

That natural process led to Come On Home, Stranger, a decidedly humanized rock music experience. The album isn’t full of easily marketable four-minute radio songs. Rather, tile have produced 12 new tracks that musically follow the members’ existence as artistically inclined humans.

There aren’t many apparent restraints here. The songs get loud, strikingly jagged, and even angry, while remaining comprehensible and providing an inviting musical experience. “We definitely wanted to step up our game from our last album,� Morekin notes, explaining that they’ve been dedicated to crafting these songs for some time. The writing process was collaborative, he says, and tile were happy about it easily continuing after needing to switch drummers.

Significant personality gets poured into both songwriting and playing for tile.

Talking about his vocal work, Morekin postulates, “There’s a lot of anger, but at the same time, it’s not just typical angry hardcore screaming vocals. I think there’s more heart if you dig in there. It’s all about the emotions that we’re feeling.� “It’s nice to be not set in one definitive direction,� he continues. “I like to jump around a lot, just from song to song. Let’s not just do this angry song 10 times on the album. Let’s try to make a nice, well-rounded plate that people can enjoy.�

That “well rounded plateâ€? is unique, but in the end, as Morekin puts it, “It is what it is, you know?â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

INTERVIEW WITH TILE BASSIST RAY GURZ

BY CALEB R NEWTON Ray Gurz makes music with the noise rock band tile because of an innate creative drive that is familiar, no doubt, to others who often flex their artistic muscles. “I make music because I need to,� he says.

He doesn’t, however, work in music full-time. He also heads Lost Soul Skateboards, having taken it over after the original owner prepared to sell it off.

Gurz blends his experiences in other lines of work into his musical expression. “I take lots of inspiration from my activities,� he shares. “I can grab inspiration from anything from a coworker’s conversation to a random conversation with a lurker who is watching us film. I am drawn toward the weirdos.

I love their stories, their history, and their daily routines.�

Lost Soul produces videos chronicling skateboarding and also sells related products. Something’s got to pay the bills. And to that end, Gurz also works at UPS, but he certainly doesn’t exclude that job as a source of inspiration. To Gurz, the world is something to experience. As he puts it, “The phrase ‘You only go around once’—I live by it.�

PHOTO BY KEIRA CULLINANE

INTERVIEW WITH JACK LANTERN AND JAMES BURGESS BY J POET Calling an album Hee Hee sets up listeners hen Claw Marks take the stage, they play with a fren- who haven’t seen the band’s unsettling live shows for something light. Why did zy that’s intense enough to the band choose such an anomalous destroy the venue. The power of their title? Vocalist Jack Lantern explains, “The live shows, with a barrage of guitar noise, relentless rhythm, and con- laugh at the center of the world is not a jolly fat man—‘Ho ho ho’—or a texted ‘lol’ frontational lyrics, made the London or a skittish ‘haha.’ It’s a rictus-grinning band’s sound hard to capture. Their any winces would make us consider our debut, Hee Hee—out Aug. 17 on PNK- ‘hee hee.’ Personally, I would have liked to decisions. The major issue with this methcall it Heeeeee Heeeeee, but there wasn’t SLM Recordings—took years of grueling od is that Henry is a natural-born wincer, enough room on the record for it.� rehearsals and sporadic gigs to finally making it difficult to tell what was great come to fruition. and what was terrible. Perhaps, after his Claw Marks produced the album, but it facial surgery, we’ll know for sure.� took them four years to finish the song“Claw Marks is the existing gritty folklore writing and recording. Why so long? “The and horrible history that seeps into our Burgess agrees, “More than any other regreat thing about self-production is the modern world,� guitarist James Burgess cord I’ve worked on, it was looking at the buck stops with you,� Lantern says. “The says, “the grey line between wild fantasies smaller details that build and decay—eiterrible thing is the buck stops with you. ther subtracting aspects to provide focus and grim truth. The music and lyrics are Fortunately, we had our dear friend Hen- or adding them to slowly build an overall more mature and representative of the ry [Withers] at Sound Savers [recording highs and lows of our current ages, even image alongside the lyrics. It took time.� studio] making all the changes to the if it be told through mad metaphors or record. We’d use a mirror to watch his “That creeping creature rising out of the river sleazy, unsettling riffs and grooves. I’m face at the mixing desk, ensuring that proud of this music.� took a long time to figure out,� Lantern adds.

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 The overall sound of Hee Hee is intense, with overwhelming layers of distorted guitar, shrieking keyboards, and relentless drumming. Lantern is a powerful vocalist, but the lyrics often get lost in the mix. Was that a conscious decision or merely the limits of the recording process? “I like the word to drift in and out of focus,â€? Lantern says. “I don’t want to bore people with a constant barrage of lyrics they have to focus in on. We wanted to create a dreamlike quality, where images weave in and out of mind—fish, drills, shrunken heads, and rats all bob past on the undertow as you dip into the dark-blue river of song.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

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INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST BRYAN FUNCK BY ADDISON HERRON-WHEELER

here are certain bands with avid followings, bands whose fans wait with baited breath whenever they release new music. Often, they have built their reputation on having a certain sound, a brutality or a delicate approach, that makes them memorable. Fans expect to hear that sound from every release and get disappointed if they don’t. Louisiana’s Thou are the kind of band with an avid following, but they are unique in that they are constantly experimenting, and that’s what their fans expect.

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“It just seems really stagnating to have limitations for no reason,� vocalist Bryan Funck explains. “It seems like the more diversity we have, the better—everything will be better.

We don’t want to just be inspired by some weed smoke metal scene, because otherwise, we are probably gonna write the same stuff as everyone else. We want to be open to all creative output. The more voices you have, the more diversity you have, the better.�

While, for some, that may just be a figure of speech, Thou really are taking a multidirectional approach to their music. They’ve al-

ready released three EPs in 2018: The House Primordial on May 1, an album that focuses on noise and experimentation; Inconsolable on May 31, an acoustic record with a lot of guest appearances; and Rhea Sylvia on July 27, which delves into more melodic territory.

The ideas explored on these three records will culminate with Magus, their next fulllength, out Aug. 31 on Sacred Bones.

With Magus, Funck is excited that Thou have pulled together so many influences and sounds for one record, as well as the unique cover art and their signing with Sacred Bones. “We used a photographer named Ellen Rogers who a few of us are huge fans of,� he says. “I knew of her before we asked her for stuff for this record specifically. She does these great photos, then goes back and colors things by hand. I think her style is just awesome. A bunch of us also love Sacred Bones; I have a record shop in New Orleans, and I stock all kinds of their stuff. I love Zola Jesus, Pharmakon, and a bunch of their artists. Originally, we were just going to put everything out ourselves, but then, I had this idea to release the EPs and lead up to a full-length. [I] thought maybe the EPs are a chance to reach out to labels we might not usually get a chance to do something with.�

In addition to art and experimentation, social justice and activism are important to Thou. The band often touch on topics like anarchism in their lyrics and care a lot about inclusion and bringing up those who aren’t often represented. However, Funck is

PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO

still surprised when people tell him they think Thou are a political band. “If I were a political writer, I would love to write like that—if I could write like one of those guys from punk bands, in a way that’s witty or clever, with a very clear message,� he says. “It’s weird to me hearing that we are a political band.

People in the band are somewhat political and involved in activist-type stuff, but we aren’t really championing a lot of causes or anything.�

Despite not being as political as fans often claim they are, Funck and the rest of the group think it’s important to keep inclusion and intersectionality in mind in the world of heavy music. “I think there are always

really easy things you can do, like play with a bunch of diverse bands—and by that, I mean a bunch of diverse types of people—and include a bunch of different types of people in the creative process,â€? he explains. “You can also play benefit shows, be on benefit compilations, benefit records, whatever; those are just real easy no-brainers to me. I’ve also been sort of toying with the idea of having the Thou Instagram curated by different types of people, people who aren’t predominantly cis, heterosexual, white dudes. I like to use whatever platform and space we have to sort of include some more perspectives.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST HANNO KLÄNHARDT BY HUTCH repeat the same mistakes all over again. Everything is based on hate and manipulation, and I’m not talking of Europe only. Also I’m talking of the United States, and you know what I am referring to.� The link is obvious, hanging in the air like dense fog, regardless of Klänhardt’s refusal to name names.

he duo of drummer Erinc Sakarya and vocalist and guitarist Hanno Klänhardt comprise the unrelenting metallic force named Mantar. The two Germans—one of whom, Klänhardt, has relocated to Florida—have pierced flesh with the sonic fangs of a hungry wolf since 2012. Now, Mantar’s third full-length, The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze, is due out Aug. 24 through Nuclear Blast.

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The focus on The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze is stripped-down music. Mantar’s raw, low tones and big, chunky riffs are achieved without a bass. Check the breakdown in the first track, “Age of the Absurd,â€? in which a dominating, low-tuned string rumbles and grabs attention. It sounds just like a ravenous bass yearning to evoke eruption. Often on The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze, Mantar present a big riff, played loosely. The aura is a live, roll-with-it feeling. Turn to “Seek + Forgetâ€? for a grandiose setting. “Dynasty of Nailsâ€? and “Obey the Obsceneâ€? offer the best of Mantar: pulsating, busy tracks with layered guitars, leads that ensnare the listener with thunderous sludge tones, drums that fuse MotĂśrhead, black metal execution, and fast tempos with thick, ugly doom.

The evocative cover of The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze is the golden sculpture “Licht-

48 NEW NOISE

One reflects on the dichotomy—or the irony—that The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze was penned in the constant sunshine of Florida. Surprisingly, Klänhardt evades the morose image of a metal writer, escaping the pretentious assumption that melancholy is the sole inspiration for this music. “I’m not much of a night person. I like to get up early with the sun and walk the dog and be alone,â€? he states. “I really like the sun. It’s good for my brain.â€?

bringerâ€?—or “Bringer of Lightâ€?—crafted by Bernhard Hoetger in April of 1936 to show his admiration for Hitler. Klänhardt is quick to announce that it is not meant to glorify but to warn. The piece hangs in their hometown of Bremen, Germany, with no indication of

its origin. Klänhardt reveals its foreboding connection to our current era. “We live in dark times, and people are falling for false leaders and false prophets again,â€? he asserts. “People refuse to think for themselves, pretty much forever. Mankind is doomed to

Klänhardt reiterates his affection for the sun while disqualifying any notion that vitamin D will assuage malicious melodies. “I really like the sunshine,â€? he asserts. “I lived in Germany for more than 30 years. Bremen is like a bad version of Seattle. It’s fucking rainy, cold, dark—miserable. I sucked up [enough] of that energy for the next 500 years. I am never going to be in a happy-go-lucky, skate punk, ska band. I still have a lot of misery in me to play dark and sinister music.â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

DOING GOOD AND GETTING BETTER

INTERVIEW WITH FRONTMAN DAVE SMALLEY

BY JOSHUA MARANHAS he latest Down By Law record, All In—released Aug. 3 via Kung Fu Records and Cleopatra Records—is another reach forward into the musical universe for vocalist and guitarist Dave Smalley. Smalley stands taller than his catalog of work. He’s greater than the sum of DYS, Dag Nasty, ALL, Down By Law, The Sharpshooters, and Don’t Sleep. That last one, Don’t Sleep, must be representative of how he gets everything done.

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To many, he’s a hero, but he wants to be seen as a component of punk rather than a leader of the scene. Smalley’s musical career spans from 1983 to All In, and he’s got no plans of slowing down. “For me, there’s an inner fire that’s always lit, pushing me to constantly excel, challenge

myself, and try new things,� he explains. “I would say that answer every year. If you ask what the difference is between the past and today, I would say I’m always trying to do different and better, explore, and try new things.�

Three chords played poorly and loudly: is that all our favorite music was meant to be? It’s arguable that punk rock in 2018 means growing up, excelling, accepting the change we have made and trying to do more. What punk rock was meant to be in the ’80s when Down By Law formed, what it became during the band’s peak in the ’90s, and what it is today are the same and different. “What has changed, if anything, from [1996’s] All Scratched Up to today is I like to think that I’m a better musician,� Smalley says. “I

think musicians should try to be always improving [by] challenging themselves. I think my lyrics on this album are some of my favorites that I’ve ever written.

Some of the ideas expressed and vocal approaches are a little bit different here and there. You have to challenge yourself.�

Expanding on the band’s other members—guitarist and vocalist Sam Williams, bassist Kevin Coss, and drummer Jack Criswell—he adds, “The musicians who make up Down By Law do what I think is probably some of the best songwriting—on Sam William’s part, [the best] that he’s ever done.�

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALAN SNODGRASS

50 NEW NOISE

Something that hasn’t changed since the early days: All In’s songs hover around three minutes in length. The record moves fast, it’s tight, and it explores fresh ideas.

In the opening track, “Aperture,�

Smalley encourages listeners to “come along on a memory,� but he is really bringing them in to his present. “My aperture is open wide,� he sings. Like a camera lens, his life is taking in as much light as possible. “Boredom� references “staring at my phone.�

Chances are Smalley wasn’t star-

ing at a phone in ’83—it’d be odd to stand in a phonebooth just gazing at a handset. These first two tunes clock in at 2 minutes, 30 second each and set the pace, set the tone, and relate the latest chapter in the story of Down By Law and Smalley’s life. All In is 12 songs in about 40 minutes, and the words are personal.

All in all, All In is a fast-beat, hard-hitting album that goes like a shuttle into outer space. “This album will really capture the emotions and feelings [‌] of people who came up in the ’80s,â€?

Smalley says. “We’re all growing.

Yeah, you’ll always want to put on the first Dag Nasty record or the first Minor Threat record, and that’s great. You always should.

You also want stuff that captures who you are at 40 or 45 or 50. I think Down By Law has been a group that people can grow with.â€? “I’m just super stoked about this album,â€? he continues. “I would put it in my own personal top five. That’s not a bad thing to say—when you’re in your 50s, and you can look back and say, ‘Hey, I just made one of my favorite records.’â€? đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł đ&#x;’Ł

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51

SAINTSENECA

BACK TO THE GARDEN | INTERVIEW WITH FRONTMAN ZAC LITTLE BY CAMERON CARR PHOTO BY OLGA PAVLOSKA

“It’s a deliberate process of people have their voice and have done by my own self.� ac Little began preaching as a teenager. Growing up in a rural part of Ohio, he was surrounded by country music, small towns, and religion. The move to preaching came naturally at the time, though it’s far removed from what he does now: fronting the Columbus-based psych-folk band Saintseneca.

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Intentional or not, Little’s past is still connected to his current work. Pillar of Na, the group’s latest album, out Aug. 31 via ANTI- Records, continues Saintseneca’s emphasis on theological imagery and echoes of Appalachian folk while frequently returning to themes of memory. In a way, it’s a continuation of his early experiences with preaching, an attempt to find meaning and purpose in the world. Saintseneca serve as a way to figure it out.

52 NEW NOISE

Across Saintseneca’s roughly decade-long existence, the influence of folk music has remained prevalent in their lush textures, heavy on stringed instruments—dulcimer, banjo, bouzouki—but that sound always came more from a desire to explore without restraint than a desire to fit a certain genre. While playing in punk and garage rock bands, curiosity led Little to collect unusual instruments and eventually experiment with those new tools. “Playing just in a rock band almost felt too restrictive, whereas approaching it in this way, you could pick up just about any instrument you want and find a way to incorporate it,� Little says. “That sort of sensibility too, later on, is what opened it up to add things like drum machines or synthesizers.�

After a couple EPs and one LP of acoustic-centered music, Saintsen-

eca expanded their sound on 2014’s Dark Arc, adding electric bass and guitar along with a fuller drum kit to create an album of stomping, idiosyncratic folk. The band ventured into psychedelic territory with Such Things in 2015, using ethereal effects and synthesizers to accentuate the dreamlike textures. Pillar of Na sits somewhere in between the two, with songs rooted in acoustic instrumentation but maintaining psychedelic backings and songwriting influences—the latter most apparent in the multi-part closer and title track that verges on nine minutes before returning to the album’s opening theme.

The omnivorous sound of Saintseneca is matched by a collective-esque history of members. Little acts as a sort of band leader welcoming in various musicians for each release—some staying, others coming and going. This album features some 15 collaborators, with Caeleigh Featherstone, Jon Meador, Matthew O’Conke, and Steve Ciolek, also of The Sidekicks, contributing heavily. “I see myself more as the person who tends the garden, and everybody’s going to bring their own things to plant,� Little explains. “It’s a deliberate process of kind

of letting go and letting people have their voice and do things that I wouldn’t have done by my own self.�

Saintseneca work as an accumulation of their parts, and Pillar of Na serves as an accumulation of influences and experiences. Little found himself focused on memory, reflecting on a decade in the band, a decade spent in a city apart from where he grew up, and the changes that have come with it all. “It’s useful for me to think about those big, esoteric, overarching ideas as a kind of scaffolding for how I conceptualize the record,� he says. “Then, the personal anecdotes and the personal stories and experiences or whatever basically flesh that skeleton out.�

On Pillar of Na, Little moves between perspectives, considering memory collectively, from others’ views and from his own life. His days of preaching religious wisdom don’t necessarily give closure to his ideas; rather, they fuel his work of questioning. “That basically just gives me more questions than anything else,â€? Little says. “It’s like, ‘All right, well, I guess I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to figure out what’s what.’ Seems easy for some people, but not for me.â€? đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE SPITTING THE BIT | INTERVIEW BY SEAN GONZALEZ

PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO

fter two years and a multi- ing on dark horses, as if a scholar had constantly touring and spending tude of tours supporting her given their life for the subject. one’s evening hours like a vampire last album, 2016’s Marked for character can weigh on the mind.

Death, Los Angeles singer-songwrit- By all means, this is Rundle’s writing. “In the bridge of [‘Control’], I am er Emma Ruth Rundle is pushing the talking about how, specifically, alboundaries of sound with a new re- Enriched with vivid, compelling coholism and drug addiction can belease, On Dark Horses, out via Sargent dynamics and tight-knit drumming, come something that you adapt from House on Sept. 14. Here, the ghastlier “Fever Dreams� sputters out of the being on tour as a coping mechanism,� tones that haunted the grim land- gate trying to piece together what lies she elaborates. scape of the last album find a new rid- in the depths of Rundle’s emotions. er escaping their presence, with a full The chorus swirls with ambiance as Yet, throughout the album’s eight band creating space to breathe. Even Rundle cries out, “A life spent uneasy gorgeous tracks, there are beams the bridge of the record’s epicenter, / In pieces, always in pieces.� The of shining musical progression that “Darkhorse,� builds on the theme with imagery of distant memories shim- utilize decadent textures to serve a a steady gallop. “That bridge part is mer with the atmosphere, as Rundle brighter pulse within the singer’s life. horses running around you,� Rundle explains the song is “dealing with the “Dead Set Eyes� pivots on a major key, comments. “Kevin [Ratterman], who skewed perspective and perception lined with transcendental leads that mixed the album, does this studio effect that I feel like I have on a regular slide behind the urgent vocals. “Light where the drums are encircling you.� basis—whether it’s confusion from Song� plays like a spiritual hymn, with being medicated or for whatever Rundle and prior collaborator Evan On Dark Horses plays out like a dis- reason.� The song is an opening cur- Patterson of Jaye Jayle trudging sertation, a thesis of Rundle’s accep- tain call, finishing with a dense outro. through the song with two vocal meltance of touring, but with a yearning “There’s something about it that has odies. Patterson provides a guttural to find new light surrounding. “The this tension in the beginning, and it presence, almost monotone, while whole concept of [‘Darkhorse’] and relaxes into this open, heavy ending Rundle glides over the top, weaving some of the other songs is about that feels extremely cathartic for me together a delicate, soulful answer to breaking cycles, abuse and addic- as a musician,� Rundle shares. the song’s orchestration. tions,� the vocalist explains. This is where the interplay of the title comes “Control� spirals into a groove that For On Dark Horses, Rundle and in: Rundle is riding a dark horse, an features more of the incredible company played the songs live in outlier. Someone’s unfavorable odds drumming of Wovenhand’s Dylan the studio, capturing not only the are pitting everything against her, yet Naydon, bombarding the senses emotion but the riveting space in she still finds a way to come out on along with Rundle’s amorphous the room. The tighter compositions top. She also evokes the idea of writ- vocal presence. Rundle admits that are credited to the live, full-band

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performance. “Evan Patterson’s guitar playing creates another kind of vibe,� Rundle says, “[and] Dylan is an incredibly gifted young musician.�

The other key to this record was Ratterman. “This is the first time I have worked with someone who I would credit as producing the record. I helped on it and gave my opinions, but Kevin really took the reins, so to speak, with the mixes,� Rundles explains. “There was a lot more discovery on the other albums, whereas this album, it was at a further stage of completion. The discovery element was how Kevin interpreted what we were all doing. It gives it an interesting, more cohesive sound. I think it’s more colorful than the other albums.�

The record ends on a solemn note with “You Don’t Have To Cry.� It’s a touching song Rundle wrote for a friend in a troubled state of mind, but it offers a glimmer of hope that the dark horse will overcome the odds.

Even through the constant need to break the cycle, On Dark Horses finds Rundle finding answers. “It’s a constant shifting thing to grapple with,â€? she admits. “Some of these things are complicated, and a permanent answer doesn’t always present itself.â€? đ&#x;’Ł

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KING DUDE

INTERVIEW WITH TJ COWGILL

BY THOMAS PIZZOLA J Cowgill, the man behind Seattle’s King Dude, is set to unleash his seventh record, Music To Make War To, on the world. Out Aug. 24 through Van Records, the album finds Cowgill looking at the very nature of conflict, from different angles and in his own unique way. “It’s not about war in the traditional sense, like nations versus nations or groups of people against each other,� he says. “It’s more about people going to war with their environment or with their family. It’s more about conflict in its many different forms. It’s something I’ve always wanted to explore.�

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music—with one exception. “People come up to me and say, ‘You’re in a band? What do you sound like?’ I usually answer with ‘American rock ’n’ roll,’� he says. “In a way, music should be impossible to describe. It should exist in a different realm, the spiritual realm. You just have to check it out. I’m comfortable with whatever you want to call it. Though, there was this one time when we were on tour in Austria, and the poster for the gig read ‘White Trash Goth.’ I didn’t know whether it pissed me off because it was true—I’m hoping it’s inaccurate,� he laughs.

Basically, it’s another killer King Dude album.

It’s been many years since Cowgill left heavy metal to follow his twisted muse.

King Dude was about finding his own path in order to fully realize his artistic vision— though, he felt he had a little guidance on the matter. “I shifted away from being in a metal band because it wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do. There was a lack of money, lack of direction. We were on all kinds of drugs. I like all kinds of music. I felt I was becoming a caricature,� he says. “You need to do the right thing. You need to do what you want to do. Follow the signs. It’s about finding a place where we belong. It’s up to us to figure out where we need to be. The place where I am now is where I’m needed.

It was not my choice—I listened to the signs.�

But how exactly would one describe the band’s sound? Goth country? Spooky Americana? Cowgill is cool with whatever adjectives listeners use to describe his

In Cowgill’s case, following the signs has worked out rather well. With King Dude, he has a diverse body of work—now seven albums deep—that speaks for itself. đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

At first, Music To Make War To was supposed to be an electronic affair, but Cowgill decided to bring in his backing band instead. This approach opened the album up to a wider palette of sounds, all undeniably King Dude.

The songs range from sultry country-blues numbers like “Good & Bad�—a pulse-quickening duet with Josephine Olivia, featuring some lascivious sax that only heightens its mood—to rockers such as “Dead Before the Chorus� and “The Castle� to a goth-flavored ode to Hollywood’s demise entitled “Let It Burn,� on which Cowgill sounds like a more ghoulish Andrew Eldritch of Sisters Of Mercy.

SHANNEN MOSER

INTERVIEW BY SEAN GONZALEZ hannen Moser’s music may have the small-town campfire warmth woven into its atmosphere, but the Philadelphia singer-songwriter’s poise gives the tracks a gigantic weight. Of the narratives found across her new album, I’ll Sing, Moser says, “I love the idea of taking a song out of its musical context and reading them the way you would read a short story.� The expansive beauty of the 15-track record, out via Lame-O Records on Sept. 7, is uncovered within the dense layers of the journeys told.

Window Seat,� she floats through the mix with a thoughtful ambiance, decorating the song’s swells with harmonious melodies, gliding into a space of soothing comfort.

Moser is explorative but aware within the textured folk songs on I’ll Sing. “Everything is a little more calculated,� she admits. “I have so many incredible and talented friends, so my work is becoming more collaborative in its evolution. I’ll write a song, hang onto it for a long time, and watch it change over a few months. Then, I’ll take it to whoever I’m collaborating with, and we’ll kind of hash out some stuff together in a way that makes sense on a recording but also in a live setting.�

I’ll Sing is a wondrous umbrella of folk music, curtsying with emotion and keeping pace with the depths of life. đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

S

PHOTO BY EMILY DUBIN

54 NEW NOISE

In her brash, quick-to-the-punch set pieces, Moser uses dynamic arrangements to create the introspective sentiments. “Haircut Song� is an intimate experience thanks to the power in Moser’s vocal lines. On “Your

Of the writing process, Moser details, “All of the songs on the record have had a very transformative few months—from little blips of ideas and pieces of stories to kind of forming this one big cohesive piece that tells stories within the same theme of love and heartache and death and rebirth and growth.�

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THE TIME IS AT HAND ‘SELF-RELIANCE’

‘A FOOLISH CONSISTENCY IS THE HOBGOBLIN OF LITTLE MINDS.’”

56 NEW NOISE

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST DUSTIN KENSRUE BY NICHOLAS SENIOR

or their 10th studio album, Palms, out Sept.

14 via new label Epitaph Records, Thrice hand-selected a batch of 10 songs that further their renowned grasp of finding new ways to make sonically and thematically gripping music.

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The Orange, California-based group’s progressive mindset has led to some fascinating experiments in the past—writing four records based around the four classical elements and making it work is a feat. However, none of their prior accomplishments quite measures up to the sheer touching heft of Palms. Centered on a nighttime epiphany and emphasizing the power of a helping hand, Thrice’s latest may just be their most meaningful and moving musical collection to date.

Vocalist and guitarist Dustin Kensrue—like most of us—has done quite a bit of soul-searching of late, and he’s come out of it with a different worldview. “Much of the past few years has been a deconstruction of many of my old ways of understanding the world,� he explains. “This deconstruction is really only the latest part of a longer journey that I’ve been on for as long as I can remember: trying to understand the world, thinking I’ve got it figured out, and then learning again that I really don’t, and, ultimately, in many ways, I can’t. It’s been a bit of a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ [situation], but the most recent developments have been that I finally understand the deeply contextual nature of the universe and our lived experiences. Everything is connected, and almost nothing is binary. Much of the record is influenced, as well, by process philosophy, which is something I’ve been reading on extensively in the past few years.�

This new perspective forced Kensrue to grapple with the resistance to change, as well as to engage in uncomfortable reflection on the past. “The record PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO

is definitely very much about connecting people,� he states. “[My general worldview] has definitely shifted and, I would say, is probably significantly different on every record, since I am a changing, learning, growing human being. Some people are afraid of changing and look at it as weakness. The reality is that you cannot grow without changing. Emerson’s essay on ‘Self-Reliance’ is a very helpful resource in this regard. He says that ‘a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.’�

trouble is that we start to believe that our way of looking at the world is more than just a way, and we start to think that it’s the way things actually are. We get hung up seeing the world as we think it is, and we miss the way it actually is unfolding around us, failing to take seriously the huge variety of experiences of those around us. It’s not an easy task to try to break down our black-andwhite ways of thinking, but I believe it’s necessary if we want to create a compassionate and connected world.�

“To truly grow,� Kensrue elaborates, “we need to be always ready to admit that we were probably wrong yesterday, in many ways, and likely will prove to be wrong about many things today. It’s strange to look back and disagree with myself in so many ways in older songs, but I choose, rather, to look at it all as part of the journey that has brought me to where I am today.�

Musically, Palms embraces the spirit of Thrice’s 2007 four-part opus, The Alchemy Index, in the diversity and experimentation present within each individual song. The whole is interconnected by the band’s now-signature marriage of intricacy and melodicism, but each of these 10 musical digits reaches out as far as it can without losing grip of Thrice’s musical identity.

That journey clearly required some rest, but even in his sleep, Kensrue can’t help but be creative. “The basic thrust of the record,� he says, “is built around the broad metaphor of an open hand and all of the things it can represent. The idea for Palms came to me in the middle of the night as I woke from a dream and began to list all of the things that a palm could represent. The palm serves as a hub from which the subtopics and songs radiate like spokes on a wheel: openness to others and new ideas, compassion, connection, forgiveness, blessing, non-violence, etc.�

However, Kensrue feels that Palms has more in common with a different record. “We did set out trying to make sure that we were allowing ideas from the fringes to retain their uniqueness in tone or texture or movement,� he offers. “We always do this to some extent, but we also are generally pulling things into a more centered aesthetic for each record as well. This record was similar to [2005’s] Vheissu, where we stretched out to grab far-flung ideas and consciously tried to avoid bringing the sounds and songs too far into a common central meeting place.�

Part of the message of Palms and its 10 songs—like 10 outstretched fingers—reflects on a rejection of the binary and an appreciation of “The Grey,� as the album’s excellent lead single of the same name and its visually stunning video explore. “Our brains like to sort things into either-or, black-white, etc.,� Kensrue warns. “It simplifies the world and is necessary to survive in a lot of ways. The

Ultimately, Palms feels like a soothing salve for a world that desperately needs an open hand, an open mind, and an open heart. It never feels sanctimonious or pie-in-thesky, because the songs are so grounded in shared human experience—and because they’re as engaging as they are emotional. Ten records in, Thrice’s grip on powerful songwriting is as strong as ever. đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

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PHOTO BY BLISS KATHERINE

ith I’m Only Dreaming ‌Of Days Long Past, released via Equal Vision Records on July 20, Eisley vocalist and guitarist Sherri DuPree-Bemis and bassist and producer Garron DuPree have reimagined their 2017 record, I’m Only Dreaming. “We recorded it over the course of a few months, before I’m Only Dreaming was even released, in fact,â€? DuPree-Bemis explains. “We came out of recording the original version of the record in a very excited and enthusiastic place, and we didn’t waste any time jumping right into this version of the record. For this project, Garron really handled the entire music side of the album, and I handled all of the vocal work. We really enjoyed how that balance came out.â€?

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The album comes from a comfortable place in the lives of the two cousins. DuPree recorded the music in his home studio in Sugar Land, Texas, and DuPree-Bemis laid down vocals close to family at her home four hours away in Tyler, Texas. “I always feel like I get the best vocal takes when I’m in a place I’m super comfortable,� she says, “and for me, that’s definitely at home.�

The album registers a quiet comfort and has a porch-sitting feel. Like a Texas summer night spent sitting in

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the yard while the stars slowly cross the sky, it’s stripped down to reveal a familiar natural vibe. Its nuances bounce in space like the nicest, simplest of life’s pleasures. Listeners will want to run through grass barefoot listening to this one—or have friends over and turn it up, listening deep into the night. For DuPree-Bemis, those feelings are connected to family. “I love singing my kids to sleep.

It’s better than singing to anyone else on earth,� she shares. “Being able to soothe them by doing something I love is something that I definitely don’t take for granted. I feel like a pretty lucky person. I love giving them the gift of music. It’s been one of the biggest gifts of my life.�

The seeds for this record were planted back in 2007, after Eisley released their sophomore LP, Combinations. “We did an acoustic tour around the release of Combinations,�

DuPree-Bemis recalls. “The tour was really just an experimental one that we came up with because we thought that it would give us the opportunity to highlight the more sensitive, melody- [and] harmony-centric traits of the band. The response that we got during that tour was so amazing.

Yeah, maybe it’s a decade later, but we thought it would be a fun reflection and continuation to bring that approach to an album.�

Sweet and Simple

EISLEY INTERVIEW WITH SHERRI DUPREE-BEMIS BY JOSHUA MARANHAS

Recording I’m Only Dreaming ‌Of require the drum beat of the original, Days Long Past was a generational while relaxing acoustic vibes may be family affair, even more so than the the right speed for sitting in the yard family band’s usual efforts. Record- on a quiet night. ing vocals at home, DuPree-Bemis was able to stay close to her kids, and “You can always think that something that made producing the album the that you created could be ‘better’ best experience it could be. “With or could be ‘more,’ but it is also a Garron handling all of the music slippery slope, because if you conwork for this record, it afforded me stantly do that to yourself, you’ll never a lot more time to work on my side be happy,â€? DuPree-Bemis explains. of the album,â€? she says. “I really do “Yes, it’s great to challenge yourself best when I have my kids and my constantly and push yourself, but family around me anyway, so even there’s something to be said about if the kids are running around in the just loving what you’ve created.â€? background, I’m way into it.â€? “I know that doesn't sound very ‘torI’m Only Dreaming and its new tured artist’ of me,â€? she laughs. “Honincarnation are two sides of the estly, the biggest message that we same coin—equal in their beauty wanted to convey with this album is and musical quality. Both versions that there is always a new perspective, of “Louder Than a Lion,â€? for exam- no matter what. We all have events in ple, are powerful in their approach. our lives that cause us to take certain It’s not a question of which is better, viewpoints, but this album was meant but which fits the listener’s mood to be a reminder to ourselves—and and motivation. Moving through the to fans—that some views are worth world, busy getting life done, may taking a second look at.â€? đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

NEW NOISE 59

PHOTO BY JOE CALIXTO

INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST JORDAN BLACK BY BRIDJET MENDYUK nyone who follows Like Pa- In true punk rock fashion, credit is cific’s lead vocalist Jordan due to the city of Toronto, where Black on Instagram—@ Like Pacific first came together. hotgaydaddy—knows he has been Boosting the signals of young #livinghisbestlife lately. Sunburnt, bands—just like their scene leaders zooted off Benadryl, feeling “not had done before them—and citing human� but giggling, a glow ema- the city and East Coast has having nates from his voice: happiness. “crazy supportive fans,� it’s clear the band have been supported in their Like Pacific released their second community and vice versa. “Toronand most powerful full-length to to is such a huge city with a lot of date, In Spite of Me, on July 27 via talented people,� Black says. “We Pure Noise Records, and it’s no sur- have so many good queer bands prise that Black’s elated yet punchy from Toronto, and that’s something attitude has seeped through on we stand behind as a whole. We the new album in a big way. “[Our want to see more of that.�

2016 debut] Distant Like You Asked was a very apologetic time in my The song “The Spring� stands out as life where I thought things were a defining track for In Spite of Me, my fault,� Black says. “With this with Black shouting lyrics like: “We record, I’m not sorry for how I feel. could’ve had the spring to make us I’m not going to apologize for new again / But you decided to fuck being upset.� with my head.� Black’s yelling was

A

60 NEW NOISE

inspired by Trophy Eyes and a desire “I was embarrassed to talk to anyone,� “to get the emotions across. It was he notes. “That is the stigma about hard to translate,� he admits. From mental health. I was ashamed of it.� their humble beginnings coming up in a heavily-saturated pop punk era, Overthinking and self-medicating the band have grown into their sweet led to the album’s first single, “Sedspot. “I think that we’ve grown in so atives,� but the record is anything many ways. We finally all know what but sedate. It was born out of eviwe want to do and what we want to dent raw emotion. “I was in a weird sound like,� Black says. “With Distant relationship for two years that was Like You Asked, it was a bit rushed, but like a safety blanket; it became too with this record, we finally found it.� real that I was treated like garbage,�

Black says. “[I thought], ‘Oh, I’m in Bigger, more aggressive, and more a touring band. I’m never home. poignant all at once, In Spite of Me No one will put up with me.’ [I was] holds poetic justice for Black regard- going through a lot of big changes, ing the last two years of his life, spent crazy emotional waves—something as a road-hound stuck in limbo. as little as gaining a bit of weight or Suffering from “anxiety and bouts of changing medication. The record depression,â€? Black was exhausted due was for me, but people relate to it in large part to a relationship that left and can interpret it in a way that him feeling attacked for trying to ad- [relates to them]. It was a diary dress and improve his mental health. entry for me.â€? đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł

LIFE FINDS A WAY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE CALIXTO

SUMAC INTERVIEW WITH VOCALIST/GUITARIST AARON TURNER BY CALEB R NEWTON or Aaron Turner, decades of work in and love for music are not about to culminate in something carelessly put together or forgettable.

He’s the vocalist, guitarist, and chief songwriter for SUMAC, the complex, experimental noise rock band with whom he is going, in a way, further than ever before in expressing his inspiration.

Over time, Turner’s life experiences added their own element to his inspirational mix. On the new SUMAC record, he explores love not from a gimmicky, sales-minded perspective but, instead, as a base need and drive. Turner explains that the love theme was, in part, “informed by my wife and I having our first child and what that revealed to me—and also just A gut-level inspirational drive seeing what was going on in and a conscious intention to the political and social climate create art that reflects that drive in the world at large, but most both inform the Pacific North- specifically, in the U.S.� western band’s new record, Love In Shadow, out Sept. 21 via Thrill “I realize that though it’s been Jockey. Both of these factors have hard for me to really concisely compounded in the years since articulate what my beliefs Turner first found metal, punk, are and what my conviction and, eventually, experimental is about humanity, when I’ve music, including improvisational thought about it a lot—and reactions to things, that belief rock, a style that’s important to in having conversations with was further solidified.� him. “I feel that this record goes other people about it quite further into improvisational ter- frequently—what I came to is That complex panoply of experiences birthed the complex Love In Shadow. On the album, Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn weave a musical narrative that easily—like life itself—veers into the truly unexpected and experimental. At the same time, the “narrative� has a unifying sense of force. After all, through the turns of our experiences, there is one constant: we are alive.

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dividual existence is very much impacted by those around us.

So, in that way, I feel like the music represents that and is that. When we get into these parts of our songs where we’re abandoning a preconceived structure, we really just have to play off of and with each other and let it happen rather than trying to control it.�

Though life often can’t be controlled, it remains immersive, just like the lengthy four tracks of Love In Shadow. Diving in can teach us something, but there’s Turner has this paradigm in often a first step to take—in this mind, calling the experimen- case, that step is turning on the tal writing and performance new SUMAC record. đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł choices he makes with SUMAC “a more direct reflection of the experience of being alive.â€?

ritory than we ever have before, and I feel excited by that—and I feel scared by it, which is also a good thing,� he explains. “I don’t like to feel too comfortable in what I’m doing. That, to me, results in eventual stagnation.�

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that I do believe that our capacity to love and our desire to be loved is at the basis of our existence,� he continues. “After fathering a child and seeing how he came into the world and watching his innate

“I want the songs themselves to be alive in the sense that they change over time and they’re very much about the moment in which they’re happening,� he continues. “Life itself is unpredictable, and it is not easily controlled, and our in-

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who wants to make the gnarliest, “Army of Cops� introduce exciting least repetitive noise on earth. On new elements like groove and dyHead Cage, Pig Destroyer shake up namics to Pig Destroyer’s world of their world-renowned grindcore unbridled chaos. Bringing bassist formula and hit the brakes for a John Jarvis into the fold back in beat or two. Hull was determined to 2013 not only helped the band’s craft crazy but cohesive songs, not already-boisterous live shows get, just a collection of insane musical ugh, louder, it also helped Hull exparts frankensteined together. pand his sonic palette during the Head Cage writing sessions. “Nuance and depth is something that you just can’t get with sheer speed “I was really excited to be able to or brutality,� he says. “I started out write for bass. I love the sound of a trying to write out of my comfort zone. really gnarly, midrange Deep Fryer Most of the songs that I wrote at the bass,� he says fondly. “I’ve been the beginning of the writing session didn’t cretinous little kid who, when South have blast beats, some were filled of Heaven came out [in 1988], I was with complicated time signatures, pissed off at Slayer. When Chaos some—like ‘Army of Cops’—had a AD came out [in 1993], I hated Helmet-type groove to them. So, I Sepultura, you know? I’ve been that tried to write stuff that was com- cretinous kid who would stand for pletely different than stuff that we’d absolutely nothing but sheer speed, already written. I mean, we’ve had 15, but I’m not that kid anymore.�

20 years of blast beats and fast thrash, so I wanted to add something to our Time waits for no man. Pig Destroyer discography. It’s not like we’re trying have grown up. They are highbrow muto completely change the band, I just sic aficionados from now on, ya dig? don’t want to look back at the discography and think, ‘This is just kind of a Just kidding. Songs like “Dark Train� repeat of this.’� and “The Torture Fields� still fucking rip.

Songs like “Circle River,� “Concrete Beast,� and the aforementioned

C’mon, they’re Pig Destroyer! đ&#x;’Ł

PHOTO BY JAMES ALVAREZ

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST SCOTT HULL

BY JAMES ALVAREZ n the extreme music underworld, there are few bands who generate the sheer frothat-the-mouth levels of hysteria that Pig Destroyer inspire. For the last two decades, Virginia’s noisiest sons have released some of the most consistently belligerent slabs of grindcore and metal mashups imaginable.

I

After six years of anticipation, Pig Destroyer are back with their sixth neck-snapping full-length album, Head Cage, out Sept. 7 on the mighty Relapse Records. “It didn’t always take that long to write a Pig Destroyer record; sometimes, they get written pretty quickly,� guitarist and Pig Destroyer ringleader Scott Hull reveals. “This time around, I chose to take my

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time and to sort of work on each song more thoroughly than I had in the past. Instead of just writing something and sending it out to the band to see if they like it, I’d sit with it a bit and tweak it some more—like how an author would treat a book: endless revisions, constantly vetting it, throwing away stuff that doesn’t work.

I just wanted to make sure that every single song was something that I wouldn’t look back on and say, ‘I wish I could have done things differently.’�

Hull has been grinding the good fight with Pig Destroyer for more than 20 years now. After decades in the game, and despite apparently never wearing earplugs onstage, Hull has developed an uncanny and highly discriminating ear. Basically, the dude is a perfectionist

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OTEP KNOW YOUR ENEMY PHOTO BY ALAN SNODGRASS

INTERVIEW WITH OTEP SHAMAYA BY JONESY hroughout her career, Otep Shamaya has been known for raising awareness of social and political injustices, and with the current political situation in the United States under Trump, she has many important topics to address.

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OTEP’s new album, Kult 45— released July 27 on Napalm Records—is a call to action, as Shamaya growls, recites, raps, and screams her way through themes like rape culture, gender roles, school shootings, and racism. To cite one of Shamaya’s favorite groups, Public Enemy, the result is louder than a bomb.

For Kult 45, OTEP returned to The Lair Recording Studio in Los Angeles, using the same equipment they did on their first full-length, Sevas Tra, released in 2002. The new self-produced album is both vibrant and aggressive, bringing back the raw energy of their debut. “We

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wanted to do it with the original instruments to keep us focused on our roots and where we came from and bring back the days of being a hungry band,�

Shamaya explains. It is perfectly clear how much their debut album still means to her. In fact, it’s evident by just looking at her right arm, where she has a tattoo of the album’s title—which, backwards, reads “art saves.�

The title of Kult 45 references Donald Trump, and its artwork depicts a woman wearing a Lady Liberty mask and holding an M16 painted in red, white, and blue. It is packed with symbolism. “It feels like the current state of America at this moment—it feels like some people care more about their guns than their children,� Shamaya says.

The whole album is a rallying call with the clear intent to inspire listeners to stand up, be heard, and make a change. “We are a

“It feels like the current moment—it feels like some guns than their children.� nation not based on a bloodline or a monarchy; we are based on an idea that all are created equal and we all have the same rights,� Shamaya says, describing how she feels Trump is trampling over the constitution and civil liberties using rhetoric that play in the hands of Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, and the alt-right.

In one of the most explosive and aggressive tracks on the album, “Molotov,� OTEP declare that they will not remain silent if their opposition becomes violent. “This goes out to all the tainted racists and Nazi believers,� Shamaya screams, encouraging her enemies to find a bunker and follow their

leader, clearly referencing how Adolf Hitler ended his life in a German bunker in 1945.

One of the closing tracks, “Wake Up,� is an homage to Rage Against The Machine, the political music icons from California who disbanded the same year OTEP were formed.

By combining elements from metal with hip hop and funk, Rage Against The Machine heavily influenced nu-metal and helped pave the way for bands like OTEP. Now, with Kult 45, OTEP are continuing to carve their own niche in alternative music with their poetry-driven protest metal. đ&#x;’Ł

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INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST/VOCALIST DARIUS KOSKI BY DEREK NIELSEN wingin’ Utters have a punk rock pedigree that is beyond reproach. Their 1995 debut, The Streets of San Francisco, was produced by Lars Frederiksen and was met with extremely favorable comparisons to The Clash, Sham 69, and Stiff Little Fingers upon its release. That buzz even earned the band a coveted spot on the first-ever Warped Tour—R.I.P.

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Since reuniting in 2010 following a seven-year hiatus, the San Francisco streetpunks have been busy, dropping three full-length records and four EPs and adhering to a merciless tour schedule. Now, the band are gearing up to release their fourth LP since reuniting—and ninth overall—Peace and Love, on Aug. 31 via Fat Wreck Chords. That’s an impressive level of output when you take into account how many other projects the members are involved in, from The Re-Volts and toyGuitar to Dead To Me and Nothington to their solo efforts—plus, you know, kids, families, and careers.  “It’s really hard to schedule tours with all that stuff,� longtime guitarist and sometimes vocalist Darius Koski explains. “That’s the only reason this record took so long, because we have to book tours around the record release. Honestly, if that wasn’t a problem, we’d be putting out a record every year. It’s a lot harder when you get older,� he laughs.

In order to keep things moving, core members Koski and lead vocalist Johnny Bonnel have utilized the talents of several different Bay Area musicians.

Guitarist and vocalist Jack Dalrymple

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of Dead To Me and toyGuitar added new dimension to their sound with his signature vintage style after joining the group in the mid 2000s. Calling them streetpunk at this point would be a gross oversimplification. There are influences of blues, folk, and country woven into the textile of each record.

So, what should fans expect from Peace and Love? “Musically, to me, this is kind of back-to-basics,� Koski shares. “There’s not a ton of instrumentation, there’s no country song or anything—it’s pretty much rock and punk rock all the way through, more than anything we’ve done in a while. Usually, on our records, there’s at least one song that strays into a different genre, but I don’t think this record has one of those songs.�

disgusted right now,� Koski laments. “I don’t think we would have been able to not be political. It’s a bad time, man. I’m not enjoying it at all.�

A fair point, considering how hard it is to read a newspaper, look at your phone, or turn on the TV without spiking your blood pressure these days. The discourse going on is extremely in-yourface, which is why the band channeled their anxiety and anger into a record with the title Peace and Love—at the end of the day, we could all use some of both. “It seemed to make sense to me,� Koski explains. “Here’s our most angry record, and we’re just super pissed and disgusted, but that’s really what we want: peace and love. It was perfect.�

The title also doubles as nod to Swingin’ Utters’ dear friends in The Pogues. “We do know there’s a Pogues record called Peace and Love,� Koski admits, “but yeah, we’re good friends with Spider [Stacy], so hopefully, he’ll take it well.�

The first single off the record, “Human Potential,â€? is a premium cut of San Francisco Bay Area streetpunk: jagged guitar riffs, a driving rhythm section, and some zany-yet-still-catchy chord progressions, all delivered in “I don’t think he’ll give a shit either under two minutes. Bonnel’s vocals way,â€? he laughs. đ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Łđ&#x;’Ł remain rooted in his gravelly delivery and rhythmic enunciation, leaving the memorable melodies in the hands of the instrumentation. Basically, it’s a perfect mid-set barnburner, sure to inject energy into a mosh pit.

Perhaps the bigger difference this time around, according to Koski, is the politically-charged subject matter. Put bluntly, this is a sad and angry record. “We’re not a political band, but this is as political as we’re ever going to get, because we’re so

NEW NOISE 69

DON'T SLEEP ON THESE SPLITS, EPS, & REISSUES BY HUTCH

COUNTERPARTS: PRIVATE ROOM: PURE NOISE RECORDS

From the working-class landscape of Hamilton, Ontario, Counterparts have been flooding angsty fans with metallic hardcore in continuous waves. Since 2010, the band have released five full-lengths and a few EPs on Victory Records and Pure Noise. Heavy riffs balanced with angular guitars, Counterparts write songs that can engage an arena with bursting anthemic swells. Blast beats abound, and clean singing is eschewed for a venomous, caustic vocal delivery. On Private Room, they return with three two-minute tracks. Their strength is cutting any frills and crafting pithy tracks that do not shy from leads or solos but still trim the fat. Counterparts have a genuine feel and stay pissed without the pretty parts.

Available Sept. 7.

VIOLATION WOUND / CLITERATI: SPLIT 12”: TANKCRIMES

Prepare for a violent engagement here.

Two ripping bands have teamed up to combat ignorance and political insanity with 10 sonic assaults. Portland’s Cliterati and Oakland’s Violation Wound split this 12” with confrontational punk, metal, doomy d-beat tracks. The master of the dirty, raucous Oakland sound, Greg Wilkinson recorded both bands at his Earhammer Studios. Cliterati harvest rage and unrelenting spite with tracks like “Water Is Life,” “War On the Poor,” and “Alt-Wrong.” Violation Wound serve equally abrasive music with tracks like “Worthless Figurehead” and “The Church of Go Fuck Yourself.” The colors and flavors released July 27 include 150 on splatter and 350 on beer. This one is a winner.

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FACE TO FACE: HOLD FAST (ACOUSTIC SESSIONS): FAT WRECK CHORDS To enhance the experience for fans who paid for a VIP ticket to their Econo Live tour, Face To Face put some of their classics into an acoustic form. Then, frontman Trevor Keith decided to record a few. Realizing what he and his band had here, they discarded the original tracks and recorded a second time to make Hold Fast a fully realized adventure.

Musicians such as pedal steel player Gary Brandin and Dirty Heads percussionist Jon Olazabal were also invited, and the compositions were transformed. Face To Face will be touring in the fall with Frank Turner and Lucero to perform these songs in small-room venues. The 10 tracks—released July 27—are a stunning portrait of the various forms in which punk can manifest.

PRIMITIVE MAN / UNEARTHLY TRANCE: SPLIT 12”: RELAPSE RECORDS

Primitive Man continue to unleash their glacial hate hymns, splitting 20 agonizing minutes between two tracks after a one-minute intro. The Denver trio distill misanthropy and self-abuse to reveal the ugliest, most repugnant sludge metal soundscapes. After their 2017 LP, Caustic, Primitive Man return with two filthy tests of your endurance.

Unearthly Trance are one of the few bands mighty and slow enough to hold down this side B. The New York doom titans present four tracks of blackened doom and chaotic noise here. The speed of “Triumph” is a brutal display of metal prowess, while “Reverse the Day” sounds more like a blistering portal to Hell than a conventional song.

Available Aug. 17.

FIXATION: MARKED: WAR RECORDS

One of the most exciting bands to punch hardcore in the gut are Philly’s Fixation, who released their debut eight-track EP, Marked, via WAR Records on Aug. 10. Marked is bold, ugly straight edge hardcore. Discontent with simple lyrics full of banal tropes, Fixation heighten the hardcore threat with some angrier, unique words. The music slams and rages repeatedly throughout the eight minutes of straight edge vengeance.

Breakdowns, two steps, and fast blasts all rotate in the spotlight. A punk foundation still thrives and lends a catchy feel as captured

by Wyatt Oberholtzer. His production is crisp but beefy, while the vocals are growled in old-school glory.

INTEGRITY / KRIEG: SPLIT 12”: RELAPSE RECORDS

Contaminating souls for his third decade, Dwid has seen himself and his band Integrity change a number of times. Their 2017 full-length, Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume, showed a revamped and reinvigorated collection of musicians. Integrity continue with four additional tracks in the same vein on this 12” split, including “Flames of the Immortal” and “Sons of Satan (Return of the Sorcerer).” The tracks are short scorchers of searing holy terror.

In a wonderfully surprising pairing, Neill Jameson’s Krieg bring forth their black metal odes of isolation and despair. Krieg’s three five-minute tracks aurally infect with blistering scabs and audio infestations.

This is the band’s first material since 2014’s amazing Transient. Out Aug. 3.

MODERN LIFE IS WAR: TRIBULATION WORKSONGS VOL. 1: DEATHWISH INC.

Modern Life Is War are back and spewing vicious venom into the current discourse with two tracks, “Feels Like End Times” backed with “Lonesome Valley Ammunitions.” Poised to test their audience and any naysayers, the band’s political agenda is ripe for discussion.

Modern Life Is War shined from 2003 to 2008 alongside peers like Have Heart, Verse, American Nightmare, and The Suicide File, then parted ways before reuniting in 2012.

The pessimism and discontent simmer here through two tough but emotionally-charged hardcore punk anthems. Tribulation Worksongs will be a series of EP releases—hence the Vol. 1. Limited-edition first pressing includes four colors: white, clear, transparent red, and black. Released June 9.

JOE STRUMMER: JOE STRUMMER 001: IGNITION RECORDS

Ignition has compiled a stack of unreleased versions of Joe Strummer material, gathered from Strummer’s property. The rarities include an early demo of “This Is England,” originally called “Czechoslovak Song / Where Is England”; a solo demo of “Letsagetabitarockin’” recorded in 1975; outtakes from “Sid and Nancy” featuring Mick Jones; and unreleased songs “Rose of Erin,” “The Cool Impossible,” and “London Is Burning.”

Finally, here is a collection representing authentic closure for fans. It exemplifies the legend’s reflection of the world he saw, wrought with hope, anger, confusion, and urgency. Out Sept. 28. the limited-edition deluxe box set includes: quadruple heavyweight vinyl, 7” vinyl single, cassette, A4 book, enamel badge, art print, screen print, lyrics, and sticker sheet.

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NEW NOISE

71

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ANALOG BECAUSE CASSETTES RULE HARD AND NEVER REALLY AGE, T HE ANALOG CAVE IS HERE TO BRING YOU SOME OF THE BEST IN UNDERGROUND TAPES A ND COLLECTED VISION. A CASSETTE IS LIKE YOUR BEST FRIEND, YOUR MOST TRUSTED TRAVEL PARTNER, AND A SPECIMEN OF IMAGINATIVE FANTASY AND OTHERWORLDLY DIMENSION. POP ONE IN AND TRANSFORM. RIDE THE HIGHWAY ETERNAL.

MANAS: LIVE AT: \\NULL|ZØNE// MANAS are Tashi Dorji on guitar and Thom Nguyen on drums. It’s industrial jazz with a cement bottom and noise heart. Dorji is an experimental guitarist with a penchant for nastiness, and Live At—recorded live at Fresh Produce Records in Macon, Georgia—makes waste of aural pressure, dissecting avenues, corners, and inner-tunes of psychosis. It’s an edgy and tactile formation—sometimes piercing, other times pristine. It showcases a strong language between two artists concerned with exploration and momentum. Often, things carry into other things and the listener gets twisted in a sci-fi act of absolution.

There are metal shards that rattle around every international tone; islands and city waste connect on a stage of universality.

Jazz bleeds dark and open space is teased throughout, laying an echo of stamina, care, and brain.

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GEMINI SISTERS: GEMINI SISTERS: PSYCHIC TROUBLES TAPES TEAMM JORDANN: CHAMPION (2018 REISSUE): ORANGE MILK RECORDS Daytime Television and Teams make up Teamm Jordann, a mishmash of cutup brilliance. The group put out stuff in the early ’90s inspired by Michael Jordan and ambient house, and Champion is their athletic expression of singularity, an agreement and mutual extension. There are layers to drift, NBA vibrations, the avant-garde, and colors to shape the quadrant. The duo’s early recordings were sparse and monumental, and Champion builds on that with instant reaction, techno, hip hop, and spatial distinction.

Post-structuralism abounds. The nature of boundary-breaking, rule-snapping, and freedom of discourse is key. The skeleton is amassed with fine edges and scholarly hue, the skin rolled out with pieces of stardust and jerseys. You can look at this as a mixtape of gold. Pop it in and cruise the interstate World.

The sun partakes in the dance of invisibility, the walk of life, of Earth, and the eventual collapse. Gemini Sisters grab this fleeting spark and harness the energy. Waves crash like rays of light in the spectrum; there is peace and collusion, a synergy of collection. John Kolodij and Matt Christensen make up this inventive duo, breathing life into analog collections the globe over.

Based loosely on the Gemini zodiac sign, the album veers into the stratosphere, where air is king: breathing, sinking, and free. There is a hard design of fluidity to the group’s debut. The space it collects is to be breathed wholly, ambitiously. Take a left turn at the Astro Station, right of Mars—the Earth’s atmosphere a distant memory— and smile. Gemini Sisters bend toward the light of distant planets, each crossing a moment of acceptance.

OPENING BELL: COMPOUND EYES / LOMA ATOMAL: SLEEPING GIANT GLOSSOLALIA New York City’s Opening Bell intersect the domain of doom, noise, and industrial.

The trio are open to ideas, sensations, and atmospheres. Compound Eyes / Loma Atomal is a shard of the past and the future. “Loma Atomal” is a reworking of an old composition, varying from cloud steps to distant roar. It’s reworked “with love and gratitude to Nevada Hill,” the band state.

The honor and aspiration can be felt. There is a sadness that love carries, and the song manages to dent and subdue this rhythm.

“Compound Eyes” is hard electronic angles, with variation and dimension. The song creeps with shadowy alleys, Brooklyn dives, and Hudson River steam, angling for inner-tribulation. It’s hard without ever breaking the wall, something Opening Bell manage to master particularly with their live show: a vibrant stepping stone of atmosphere and steel.

OUT OCTOBER 5th 2018 CD/LP/CASS/DIGITAL