New Music Report – January 15, 2021
My new music posts are back for 2021! The start of the year was super slow, but it turns out a lot happened all at once, we have a few surprise albums, a ton of new singles, and a lot of exciting news about upcoming releases. Also, I have to be honest here for a second, the main website I used as my source for upcoming releases shut down as of January 1st, so that was quite stressful, but I’m back up and running, so these will continue as scheduled. Thank you all for joining me again, I’m looking forward to a ton of great new music for 2021.
Terminal Bliss EP – We’re starting the year off with an absolute ripper. This is a 10 song EP (I guess it counts as an EP?) that’s only 10 minutes long. This RVA band features members of Pg.99, City of Caterpillar, and Darkest Hour, which is just an absolute huge collection of iconic bands that helped mold the heavy music scene in DC/RVA and beyond back in the 90s and 00s. And man, it’s absolutely brutal. It’s just a rapid fire onslaught of quick and dirty hardcore. It sounds like the sort of thing you’d hear in a nasty basement show somewhere in DC about 20 years ago, so not only is the nostalgia factor high, but the pure chaotic energy is exactly what I want from this sort of music. So not only does it pay homage to the roots – and the basements – that these musicians came from, but it’s a perfect push forward into something that sound familiar but altogether new. These guys just formed last year, so of course they have not played any shows yet, but when they’re able to get out and play, I’ll be first in line. Music like this is made to be consumed in sweaty, shitty venues with terrible sound, and I can’t wait to go back.
Gatecreeper – This was a really excellent surprise album. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to have this much to write about this week, but Gatecreeper really put it over the edge. Now, this does feel like an ‘extra’, it doesn’t feel like a fully prepared and marketed album. Not in a bad way, of course, but it feels more experimental, more fun, and riskier than what you’d expect from a traditional album. This album really feels like it would be more at home and better consumed on vinyl, mostly due to the presentation of the tracks. The eight song album clocks in at only 18 minutes long, with the first seven tracks – or the Side A, as it functionally is – coming at you as an onslaught of death metal infused hardcore and grind tracks all coming in at about a minute long. This initial barrage is followed up by one of the most captivating 11 minute long doom tracks I’ve ever heard. The juxtaposition alone of these two fairly polarizing yet complimentary styles is really remarkable, but even as they’re allowed to stand alone as singular “sides” of the record, they hold their own beautifully.
Thou & Emma Ruth Rundle – I should be surprised by this, but honestly, it’s pretty much par for the course for Thou, who seem to be able to crank out a new, interesting album every few months. But this EP is the companion release to the astoundingly good collaboration album with Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle released just a few months ago in November. What’s really cool though, is that while this was recorded in the same session as the tracks for the full length, these don’t feel like B-sides, this is a completely different sound. The diversity and flexibility of ERR and Thou’s musicianship is always impressive, but when presented in a package is brilliant as this, the example is even more shining. Just a few months ago, I was raving about how this project took the best parts of both entities and amplified them as they worked together to create something truly special, and the fact that they’re able to come together and do the exact same thing yet have it sound completely different is mind blowing. This is a very, very special project and I hope we keep hearing more from the two working together.
Singles – This is really the first week of 2021 where we’re getting a lot of new music coming at us at once. Tons of bands are releasing singles to give us a taste of what’s to come later in the year, so there’s honestly too much to address individually, but I’ll list out some of the notable ones.
Erra (metalcore), Hail the Sun (swancore), God is an Astronaut (post rock), LANDMVRKS (djent/metalcore), AFI (rock), Eyehategod (sludge/doom), Demon Hunter (metalcore), Ghost Iris (metalcore), Julien Baker (singer/songwriter), Spill Canvas (rock), Normandie (post-hardcore/pop), Monolord (doom), A.A. William (dark folk/cover), Darko (tech deathcore)