by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
The past few years have seen The Drin emerge as true innovators of Midwestern punk, blurring all sub-genre lines and instead creating in their own dark world. Over the course of their first two albums, the Cincinnati band has proven capable of subverting senses, blending together everything from synth punk and krautrock to icy psych and mechanized gothic lo-fi, all filtered through the basement walls with a wavering energy. The more time you spend listening to The Drin, the deeper the connection becomes, the better the pieces all fit. The band keep that exploratory momentum moving with their upcoming third album in as many years, Today My Friend You Drunk The Venom, a record that feels pulled from another dimension, surreal and augmented from this existence. Due out January 27th via Feel It Records, Drunken Sailor Records, and Future Shock, the band expand on what’s come before, continuing to push further into their captivating unpredictability. It’s engaging from start to finish, a pulsing, swirling, clamor of dust and electricity, destined for cult acclaim.
Having already shared the kinetic groove and muddy fuzz of lead single “Stonewallin’” when no one was looking (you know… last week things were still in “holiday mode”), today marks the official album announcement and with it The Drin, led by Dylan McCartney (The Serfs, Crime of Passing, Vacation), share the record’s second single “Venom,” another stellar piece of their ominous puzzle. For a band rooted in the shadowier elements of post-punk, The Drin never shy away from spaced-out atmospheres and cataclysmic dissonance, but “Venom” hits with a motorik fervor, that’s well… downright upbeat. This one is a bop as they say, and the rattled synths and razor sharp rhythms keep this one burning a path through the trees right into the cosmos. The relentless boogie never ceases as the melody get progressively weirder against the layered fills and plodding bass.