Dry Cleaning announces second leg of U.S. tour for 2022.

Photo by Steve Gullick

London-based band Dry Cleaning continues their incredible year with a spring 2022 North American tour. Their debut album, New Long Leg, out now via 4AD, is one of 2021’s most praised albums thus far, championed by The New York Times, Pitchfork, New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Since its release, the band has completely sold out their US fall run, which starts this Wednesday at Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom. The spring 2022 leg will see the band visiting many US cities for the first-time ever. Tickets for these shows will go on sale Friday, Nov. 12th at 12pm EST, but will be sure to sell out quickly, so the band is offering a pre-sale to all subscribers of their mailing list, which will be live Wednesday, Nov. 10th at 10am EST.. A full list of dates can be found below. 

WATCH/LISTEN/SHARE
Stream/Purchase New Long Leg
Watch the “Strong Feelings” Video
Watch the “Scratchcard Lanyard” Video
Watch the “Unsmart Lady” Video

DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES (new dates in bold)
Wed. Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom – SOLD OUT
Thu. Nov. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 13 – Portland, OR @ Vitalidad Movement Arts Center – SOLD OUT
Sun. Nov. 14 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theater – SOLD OUT
Tue. Nov. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT
Wed. Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT
Fri. Nov. 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel – SOLD OUT
Sat. Nov. 27 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Arena ^
Tue. Nov. 30 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed ^
Wed. Dec. 1 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ Trades Club – SOLD OUT ^
Thu. Dec. 2 – Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre – SOLD OUT ^
Fri. Dec. 3 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome ^
Wed. Jan. 19, 2022 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie *
Thu. Jan. 20, 2022 – Lyon, FR @ Le Périscope *
Fri. Jan. 21, 2022 – Milan, IT @ Circolo Magnolia *
Sat. Jan. 22, 2022 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club *
Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 – Vienna, AT @ Chelsea *
Tue. Jan. 25, 2022 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum *
Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 Berlin, DE @ SO 36*
Fri. Jan. 28, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK  @ Loppen – SOLD OUT *
Sat. Jan. 29, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow *   
Mon. Jan. 31, 2022 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje *
Tue. Feb. 1, 2022 – Brussels, BE @ Orangerie, Botanique *
Wed. Feb. 2, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord – SOLD OUT *  
Fri. Feb. 4, 2022 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown – SOLD OUT *
Sat. Feb. 5, 2022 – Tourcoing (Lille), FR @ Le Grand Mix *
Mon. Feb. 14, 2022 – Liverpool, UK @ Arts Club Theatre %
Tue. Feb. 15, 2022 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory – SOLD OUT %
Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 – Belfast, IE @ Empire Music Hall %
Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 – Edinburgh, UK @ Summerhall – SOLD OUT %
Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @, Queen Margaret Union (Venue upgrade) %
Sun. Feb. 20, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club – SOLD OUT %
Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 – Birmingham, UK @ The Mill %
Wed. Feb. 23, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory %
Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 – SOLD OUT %
Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 – Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill %
Sun. Feb. 27, 2022 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms – SOLD OUT %
Tue. March 1, 2022 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms %
Wed. March 2, 2022 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 – SOLD OUT %
Thu. March 3, 2022 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town %
Wed. March 30 – Leicester, UK @ O2 Academy &
Thu. March 31 – Cambridge, UK @ The Junction &
Fri. April 1 – Manchester, UK @ Strage Waves @ The Ritz
Sat. April 2 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop &
Thu. May 12 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Fri. May 13 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount
Sun. May 15 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom
Tue. May 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
Wed. May 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Thu. May 19 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Fri. May 20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Sat. May 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Mon. May 23 – Houston, TX @ Satellite
Tue. May 24 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Wed. May 25 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
Sat. May 28 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Palacio de los Deportes  w/ Interpol

^= w/ Sleaford Mods
*= w/ Maria Somerville
%= w/ PVA
&= w/ Audiobooks

Keep your mind open.

[Slide over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Beauty Pill tell us “You Need a Better Mind” on their new single.

Photo by Morgan Klein

Washington, D.C.-based band Beauty Pill today announced their new EP Instant Night out December 3, releasing on limited edition vinyl, CD and digitally via Northern Spy Records and available to preorder here. Alongside the announcement the band is sharing the official video for “You Need A Better Mind“. On the track, Beauty Pill’s Chad Clark says:

“The Roland TB-303 is an old Japanese synthesizer that was designed to convincingly mimic the sound of a bass guitar.  It was introduced in 1981, it sounded like a toy and failed miserably, and it was ultimately discontinued in 1984. It makes freaky, wiggly, cartoony sounds.  It sounds fuck-all like a bass guitar. Why am I telling you this?  One ended up in my hands for a week. I did a lot of silly stuff with it.  I did come up with this one worthwhile riff, which I built a song around.  The song is called “You Need A Better Mind.”

“It was recorded with my band in a single take at the end of a recording session for another song. We were tired. None of us cared that much if we failed. The fun spirit you hear in this song is mostly exhaustion… that kind of punchy exhaustion you get late at night when you’ll laugh at anything. The lyrics were inspired by the spooky/funny 10-minute movie “Rachel”. “The song is about the scourge of American loneliness. It is by far the fastest, easiest song Beauty Pill has ever created. We hope you like it.”

The EP’s title track “Instant Night” was originally written by Beauty Pill bandleader Chad Clark in 2015 after he watched Ann Coulter, as a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, predict that Donald Trump would win the 2016 US presidential election. The Washington, D.C. based artist recorded and surprise-released the single in October 2020 out of urgency to inspire people to vote in the presidential election. Because the song was being recorded during the pandemic, and because Clark has an artificial heart that puts him at high risk for COVID-19, it was recorded on a rooftop, with meticulously planned social distancing.

“Instant Night” is Beauty Pill’s first single without drums, and it is also the first Beauty Pill song to conspicuously highlight the band’s woodwind quartet. The single was released alongside a music video featuring time-lapse footage of Trump, Lindsey Graham, and Mitch McConnell being drawn and depicted as monsters. The video was created and directed by the artist [ex-Beauty Pill member] Ryan Nelson.

Keep your mind open.

[You need to subscribe as well.]

[Thanks to Cody at Clandestine PR.]

Mötorhead releases massive compilation – “Everything Louder Forever.”

MOTÖRHEAD…a life force, an energy, an attitude and the loudest, meanest, dirtiest music to smash the 20th and 21st centuries. With a bastard sound comprising an unholy synergy of rock, punk and heavy metal, MOTÖRHEAD comes coated in relentless, ear-curdling power. They were life-changing for millions, carrying a spirit and approach to life and music which proudly said, “Honey, we’re hoooome and don’t bother cleaning because we’re here to enjoy ourselves!” The ‘off’ switch was never employed in the MOTÖRHEAD lust for life, and they became legends as a result. 

Leading the charge for their entire 40 year career was the cultural icon Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister, who swashbuckled around stages, streets and overseas like a glorious Mad Max pirate truthsayer, roaring for the good and screaming at the wankers. With his propulsive sound and lyrical might leading the charge, MOTÖRHEAD released 22 studio albums over those four decades, amassing chart topping records worldwide, a Grammy award and racking up around 20 million sales. Their hit song “Ace Of Spades” became MOTÖRHEAD’s anthem, perfectly capturing their attitude for millions, and punching giant holes in stereos worldwide to this day. Nothing was harder, nothing was faster, nothing packed more raw attitude and certainly nothing was louder, making MOTÖRHEAD a cultural elixir that was regularly imbibed across all genre lines. Don’t take our word for it, look around any heavy metal, punk or alternative gig, and you’ll see the indomitable warpig logo and MOTÖRHEAD gothic script on a t-shirt, a jacket, even an arm or leg or back (MOTÖRHEAD tattoos are everywhere), all sitting on the bodies of rockers, metalheads, punks, bikers, rebels, outcasts, freethinkers and even athletes all around the world. Yeah, that’s right, MOTÖRHEAD’s cultural reach remains virtually peerless to this very day (the one you’re living right now as you read this), and it continues to span fans young and old, igniting their adrenaline and giving them both entertainment and identity. 

MOTÖRHEAD are proud to announce they are teaming up with MÖVEMBER for their annual fundraising campaign this year. Supporters are encouraged to ‘shave down’ on 31st October and grow a moustache – or in this case your very own ‘Lemmy Mo’, through the month of November, to raise funds and awareness. All funds go directly toward supporting men’s health projects across mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.

By joining team MOTÖRHEAD and growing your own Lemmy Mo’ you’ll be raising much needed funds for MÖVEMBER and all the great work that they do. The biggest fundraisers will have a chance to win a selection of very special MOTÖRHEAD prizes!

Do you want to see what you might look like with a Lemmy Mo? Then you can try this handy filter!https://motorhead.lnk.to/LemmyMoPR

To sign up to grow your own mo’, visit www.movember.com/lemmy

Everything Louder Forever
This collection is the definitive assembly of MOTÖRHEAD songs which have created this cultural phenomenon, and represents the first time all eras of the band’s recorded history have been represented in one place. And we feel that if in this mad, mad world we’re living in, some aliens decide to drop by your house for tea and demand an explanation as to, “what the fuck is this ‘MOTÖRHEAD’ is that we keep hearing and feeling bits of in our extra-terrestrial houses millions of miles away,” you could happily play Everything Louder Forever and know that the question will be thoroughly answered. Buy two copies though, because you know they won’t leave without taking one themselves! Or something like that anyway…

Be sure to visit www.iMotorhead.com for news and updates!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Maria at Adrenaline PR.]

Georgia Harner releases debut single – “Headrush.”

Photo by Gemma Warren

Georgia Harmer, Toronto-based singer-songwriter, and the newest signee to Arts & Cras, introduces herself to the world today with “Headrush.” Coming from a family of artists and poets, including aunt and labelmate Sarah Harmer, Georgia cut her teeth as a backing vocalist for Alessia Cara before beginning to focus on her own music. This debut single presents Georgia’s striking voice—a cross-hatching of Joni Mitchell’s birdsong, the emotional vulnerability of Adrianne Lenker and the seductive tones of Hope Sandoval. “Headrush” opens with cascading drums that fall into a deliberate stride, filling out with rich melodies accompanied confidently by electric guitar draped in distortion.

“Headrush” is a slow-burn with melodic release, alight with electricity, but tinged with the melancholy of late summer : “Hours go by / Let’s drink up the sky / And spend some time / Being little kids.” Georgia’s music is sweetness personified, but with a depth of emotion, style, and hunger that belies her twenty-two years. “I miss moments when I’m no longer in them,” Georgia says. “‘Headrush’ is about wanting to go back to a moment and be completely present. Back to that summer day I didn’t realize was heaven until it had passed, only grasping its potency in retrospect.”

Recorded live off the floor with friends crammed into the corner of a converted West Toronto garage, “Headrush” embodies that DIY essence, harnessing lightning in slow, measured doses. The accompanying video, directed by Jimmy Vi, captures this energy.

Watch Georgia Harmer’s Video for “Headrush”

Georgia Harmer Tour Dates
Mon. Nov. 22 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall ^

Tue. Nov. 23 – Kitchener, ON @ Centre in the Square ^

^ = w/ Dan Mangan

Keep your mind open.

[Rush over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

RidingEasy Records set to unleash “Scrap Metal vol. 1” – a horde of rare metal from the 1970s – 1980s.

The curators of the popular Brown Acid compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal singles share a new track today via Decibel Magazine from the first edition of a new series titled Scrap Metal. Following chronologically where Brown Acid leaves off, Scrap Metal scours the world for long-lost, rare and unreleased Heavy Metal from the late-70s through late-80s. Hear/share The Beast‘s (featuring Scott Ruth, later of Dim Mak and Ripping Corpse) 1983 punk-metal hybrid “Enemy Ace” HERE. (Direct YouTube and Bandcamp.)

Album opener Rapid Tears‘ anthem “Headbang” premiered previously via Metal Injection HERE (And YouTube.) “69 in a 55”, a 1983 track from Bay Area band Air Raid launched via Ultimate Classic Rock HERE (and YouTube.)

Brown Acid & Scrap Metal series are created and compiled by L.A. based RidingEasy Records and Permanent Records

By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal: Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output. 

We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres. 

Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do. 

Scrap Metal: Vol. 1 will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on November 12th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Dave at US / THEM Group.]

Debby Friday’s new single will help you “Focus.”

Photo by Laura Baldwinson

Audiovisual artist, vocalist and experimental producer DEBBY FRIDAY is back with a new single & video, “FOCUS“. The track originally premiered on Adult Swim on their latest Digitalis compilation

Speaking about the meaning behind the song, FRIDAY said “I wrote this song in 2019, when I first started thinking about writing an album and the possibility of pursuing my creative passions as my career was making itself known to me. I kept debating with myself, ‘do I want this? or do I not want this?’  It’s a heavy question. The video also speaks to this. The whole process was like undergoing some sort of fire baptism. It was difficult and chaotic and supernatural. I felt like I was the mountain, cracking open and spilling forth.”

The video for “FOCUS“, filmed on 35mm, opens on the astonishing scene of a live avalanche – a torrent of snow flying across a frozen mountain range. The vision behind it was created by FRIDAY herself and director Ryan Ermacora.

Watch & listen to “FOCUS” here: https://youtu.be/nPs-vbGKW0E

“The shoot took a few days, spread out over a week. First, Ryan and Jeremy went to film the avalanche in Kaslo. The avalanche crew had to take them up in a tiny helicopter with all the gear to an adjacent mountain so that they could set up the dynamite and then we could get the shot. Once that was done, myself and a skeleton crew drove out to Cache Creek to shoot in the mountains there,” said FRIDAY. Shot across various locations in British Columbia, we watch as FRIDAY runs through a deserted forest and icy woods, glitching between daytime and nighttime. The desolate frigid landscape is juxtaposed with the striking imagery of her bullwhip choreography. The blazing whip cracks in the twilight air as she stands fierce and unrelenting, decked out in futuristic winter gear. Paired together, the trumpeting bass and spellbinding images make for a vision of an apocalyptic future where FRIDAY has become the last woman on Earth.

On making the video, FRIDAY stated, “Getting the logistics of everything together was the most stressful part. It’s not everyday that you have to figure out how to make an avalanche and take fire bullwhip cracking lessons. Thankfully, I had a really supportive crew the whole way through. It took a lot but I feel like this song and video marks a turning point for me that I can’t exactly name yet.”

After finishing her Master of Fine Arts degree earlier this year, FRIDAY has set her laser focus on her forthcoming LP. With a secret title and rumoured accompanying short film, DEBBY FRIDAY is not slowing down anytime soon.

Born in Nigeria, raised in Montreal and now based in Vancouver, FRIDAY released her debut self-produced, rap adjacent EP, BITCHPUNK in 2018. In 2019, Deathbomb Arc ushered in her second, critically acclaimed EP, DEATH DRIVE, which throbbed with eroticised electropunk fervour and cleared a path for self-actualisation. FRIDAY also created and directed her “FATAL” video, which was subsequently nominated for the 2020 Prism Prize Award, as well as her first short film, “BARE BONES“. Earlier this year, FRIDAY released the video for her single, “RUNNIN“, and also shared LINK SICK” – an audio-play written, directed and scored by FRIDAY herself. She is currently working on her debut full length, and will be appearing at Substance Fest in Los Angeles on November 28.

Keep your mind open.

[Focus on the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Frankie at Stereo Sanctity.]

Review: Stöner – Live in the Mojave Desert Volume 4

No, this isn’t the fourth Live in the Mojave Desert album power rock trio Stöner has released, but it is the fourth in a collection of live performances captured by the Heavy Psych Records label…and, boy, is this thing heavy.

Essentially a live performance of Stöner’s debut album, Stoners Rule (with a different track order), Live in the Mojave Desert absolutely slams from beginning to end. The album opens with cauldron-boiling guitar from lead vocalist Brant Bjork on “Rad Stays Rad” as he sings about the hard job of staying groovy in un-groovy times. Nick Oliveri‘s thundering bass soon joins him, and Ryan Gut slaps his snare like it ate his lunch and left the empty containers in the office refrigerator for him to find later “Nothin'” is a classic muscle car rocker about standing up for what’s yours.

“Own Yer Blues” is blues-influenced, sludgy rocker that seems to crawl out of the swamp. Oliveri’s bass is menacing throughout it as Bjork sings about how fast a day can fall apart and how “by afternoon, you own yer blues.” “The Older Kids” speeds things up, with all three men rolling along like a boulder racing down a canyon wall.

“Stand Down” is another sweet (leaf) groover about people who run the risks of being put in their place if they puff up on someone. “Evel Never Dies” has Oliveri taking on the lead vocals for his fiery tribute to stunt driver / madman Evel Knievel. His voice has more a metal and punk edge than Bjork’s somewhat gravelly lower tones, and both work well for their respective tracks.

The closing track is the superb long-form psych-groovy “Tribe / Fly Girl.” Oliveri’s bass lick leads the way and Gut’s steady-Eddie almost become an enchantment as the track winds like a snake across a sand dune. Bjork’s guitar chugs along like a determined steam engine until they reach the halfway point and it becomes a massive steam shovel…and then a rocket blasting away from gravity to join his bandmates who have already floated there.

Some credit has to be given to the album’s sound engineers as well. It’s so clear that the whole thing could easily be mistaken for a studio recording. It’s also an essential addition to your stoner / desert rock collection, not to mention for fans of Kyuss (which counted both Bjork and Oliveri as members).

Keep your mind open.

[Own your music news and reviews by subscribing.]

Rewind Review: Rupa – Disco Jazz (2019 reissue)

Falling in a delightful place between disco and Bollywood music, Rupa Biswas‘ often forgotten EP, Disco Jazz, is a fun record originally released in 1982 that unfortunately was released around the same time as Nazia Hassan‘s massive disco hit – “Aap Jaisa Koi.” As a result, Disco Jazz fell into obscurity until it was rediscovered by DJ sets a few years ago.

Thank heavens it was, because the EP is a blast. Teaming with a bunch of crackerjack Canadian studio musicians in Calgary, Rupa and her crew waste no time in getting you moving with “Moja Bhari Moja” – which translates to “Fun, great fun, fun.” Don Pope throws down a wicked solo while John Johnston matches him with one of the best disco bass licks you’ve heard since, well, 1982, Aashish Khan ups the ante on his sarod, and Robin Tupts‘ drum beat keeps the whole thing locked into a super groove.

“East West Shuffle” is an instrumental that has everyone grooving, especially Pranesh Khan on tablas. “Aaj Shanibar” is a bright track with Rupa doing acrobatic vocals alongside Aashish Khan’s sarod before Geoff Bell‘s synths take center stage for a shining solo. The closing track, “Ayee Morshume Be-Reham Duniya” showcases Rupa’s vocal talents (and a solo by Pope that seems effortless) even more and is a song about desiring to leave a world that suppresses love and joy to find one beyond it.

This EP is a treasure, and that it’s been unearthed after so many years is a blessing to music lovers around the world.

Keep your mind open.

[Hustle on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

Review: John Carpenter – Lost Themes III: Alive After Death

Recorded and composed with his son, Cody Carpenter, and his godson, Daniel Davies, after releasing the first two Lost Themes albums, touring the country, and re-recording many of his classic movie themes, John Carpenter‘s Lost Themes III: Alive After Death sees the trio exploring more dark themes as well as futuristic ones as they run with full, confident strides.

The title track opens the album with trademark Carpenter synth beats and adds a sharp guitar solo as well. “Weeping Ghost,” the album’s first single, is as creepy as you hope it will be. The bass in it hits like a racing pulse you feel in your neck. “Dripping Blood,” meanwhile, isn’t as creepy as you initially imagine and is quite lovely. “Dead Eyes” is another slow, brooding track, and “Vampire’s Eyes” is appropriately hypnotizing. It starts with brooding synths and then opens its red satin-lined cape to throw out a sinister guitar solo from Davies.

“Cemetery” and “Skeleton” are sharp dark wave cuts blended with krautrock rhythms. “Turning the Bones” is perfect for exploring either a dark catacombs or a dimly lit science laboratory. I’m sure film makers everywhere are clamoring to be the first to buy the rights to use “The Dead Walk” in their upcoming zombie movie. It would also work in a science fiction film, a post-apocalyptic action movie, or the next anime craze. The closing track is “Carpathian Darkness,” which could be the name of a death metal band (and probably is somewhere), and it blends sad piano with even sadder synths and growling guitars that sound like a horrible beast awakening in that darkness.

I love how John Carpenter’s career path has led him to create these albums. Fans of his film work and of dark wave will find much to love here.

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll weep if you don’t subscribe.]

Review: Cuffed Up – Asymmetry

Cuffed Up‘s new EP, Asymmetry, is a powerhouse packed into just four songs about shame, regrets, bad health, rough relationships, and, yes, even a bit of hope and forward progress.

Opening track “Bonnie” puts a modern spin on the tale of infamous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde, framing it in the idea that Bonnie gets tired of Clyde’s crap and decides to stand up for herself. The back and forth vocals from guitarists / vocalists Sapphire Jewell and Ralph Torrefranca are almost as fiery as their guitar work. Meanwhile, drummer Joe Liptock instantly throws down the gauntlet for his bandmates (and himself for the rest of the record) with his powerful beats.

“Terminal,” a song about Torrefranca facing his own mortality, (“Every moment’s my last. The future’s got a plan for me.”) has a cool, hard swing to it. The guitars on “Canaries,” as well as Vic Ordonez‘s bass, sound like a wild, angry brawler who only pauses to wipe blood from his or her mouth and take another swig of beer before approaching the next foe. Closing track “One By One” has wild rhythms from Ordonez and Liptock and seems destined to fill a stadium one day.

Asymmetry is solid, and it definitely makes you wonder how much power Cuffed Up will put into a full album if they already jam this much into an EP.

Keep your mind open.

[Fly over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Conor at Hive Mind PR.]