Misery Whip, the hardcore band from Portland, Maine, released their self-titled debut back in 2022, a decimating introduction to band that thrashed between reckless speed and primal density. MWII, the band’s upcoming EP is eight and a half minutes of blistering carnage that feels vital, pointed, piercing, and vicious in its justified scorn.
Providence mega group Mulva (members of Kal Marks, Bethlehem Steel, Ex-Breathers, and Baglady) are back with their full-length follow-up to last year’s crushing Seer EP. Bitter Form is due out March 1st via Sad Cactus, and if “Ward Them Off” is any indicator of what’s to come, it’s best to keep an ear out.
Variety, a new band led by Rhys Woodruff (Borzoi, Leche) has arrived. While best known as a drummer/vocalist, he’s moved beyond the kit to write, perform, and record the entirety of Variety’s debut single, equal parts arty punk and deranged alternative rock. “Plover” is a triumphant introduction, a jittery song that feels knotted yet supremely hooky.
The Philly / New Brunswick band, led by Quinn Mulvihill, have ventured beyond the digital realm into a dense form of swarming shoegaze and layered slowcore. Working together with Tim Jordan (Sun Organ) at Blood Red Sky, Glaring Orchid’s full length debut arrives fully formed, with equal parts graceful nuance and blaring distortion.
London duo Grazia are here for the sleaze punks, making clean and rattling garage punk with heavy pop hooks and minimalist structures. Their sound is catchy, indebted both to 80’s new wave and a more radiant KBD sound, each song on their upcoming debut, In Poor Taste, packing a gluey charm that’s hard to resist.
Returning with a teaser for Good Kind, Wesley Wolffe’s new full-length album set to be released January 12, he doubles down in tenacity and charm on his latest single, “Streets”. Grown out of sweaty spontaneity, fractured instrumentations and deliberate angst, “Streets” finds him eerily attuned to the characters around him everyday.
Laverne, the band’s upcoming third album is due out February 2nd via Midnight Werewolf Records and Best Brother Records, shows that the kinetic friendship energy that has embraced Rick Rude’s music over the years is in fine form. Heck, they’ve never sounded better, offering equal parts force and warmth.
Following “Middling,” our introduction to the new line-up back in May, Candace Clement’s All Feels return with a new two song single, Shoreline / Absent, out today via Flower Sounds (See Jazz, The Lentils, Bobbie), a gorgeous pair of thoughtful alternative rock songs that could and should be FM gold.
Brunswick, Australia’s Hooper Crescent are relying on a formula with their second album, Essential Tremors. While the quintet could have returned to the guitar heavy tangled post-punk of their debut, they’ve opted to push into new territories, exploring a different set of sounds while keeping their established framework in tact.
Soul To Burn, is a wild ride of high voltage rock ‘n’ roll grooves and swaggering hooks, but it’s also inherently complex, the sound in a constant state of contortion. These songs are accessible from first glance (“Rhodia” is a smash hit), with dissonant vibrations and riotous rhythmic shifts bending to create something casually digestible.
In Hindsight, the full length debut from St. Louis’ Algae Dust is out this Friday, December 1st, just in time to bring some warmth to the oncoming chill. Following a split with Hennen back in 2021 that mostly featured Alison Setili playing solo, their Sad Cactus Records debut moves away from the gentle sound of bedroom pop.
Big Mess come roaring back to life on Heroic Captains of Industry, a new full length album due out on January 1st. The album, initially recorded in 2018 saw some delays as life and pandemics took the focus away from the band, is pure Big Mess, colossally heavy with nuanced writing that see-saws and tugs in opposing directions at will.
Sprite are a new band comprised of some familiar faces, the quartet formed by Sam Brown (Flesh Panthers) together with Josh Rodin (Cel Ray), Kinsey Ring (Lollygagger), and Donny Walsh (Wallplant, ex-Stuck). Inspired by the fuzz and syrupy melodies of bands like Ovlov and Hotline TNT, Brown decided to pick up a guitar and give songwriting a shot.
Following last year’s II EP, the band are back with… you guessed it, III, out today via Swimming Faith and Steak and Cake. In true Ismatic Guru fashion, the music is equal parts deranged and groovy, sounding something like a mix between Devo, US Maple, and This Heat played on fast forward. There’s not a moment to think.
“Chill Pill” is the coldest and sharpest track on Glaswegian quartet Dancer’s latest EP, As Well. The video is no more warm than the song itself. In 1.5x speed and interspersed with blasts of a lo-fi painting filter, Gemma Fleet tromps around like a disaffected teenager kicking pebbles at flocks of sheep.
Access to the Lonely is certainly aggressive, but it lashes in a way that’s too carefully considered to be pure rage. Sure, “Libertarian Noise Rock” flies off the handle, with a shredding 80s thrash metal guitar solo from World Below’s Alex Cheskis, but many of the album’s best moments are more patient.
