Featured Releases: November 18, 2024

SOH: Cost to Live 12” (No Norms Records) Los Angeles’s SOH follow up 2022’s Life in Edge EP with their first full-length record, showcasing their musical chops and forging a path that’s totally punk but also fully unique. SOH doesn’t sound like anyone else out there, and while you can hear antecedents in their galloping d-beat rhythms, metallic riffing, and charismatic vocals, it all comes together into the band’s distinctive sound. Part of what defines that sound is its eclecticism. You never know what SOH is going to throw at you next, and each song offers something new, whether it’s a different rhythm from the drummer, a new style of riffing, some bubbly bass lines, or a new vocal technique that you haven’t heard on a previous track. It feels like SOH took pains to make sure they weren’t just writing the same song over and over, with each one adding something distinct to the band’s oeuvre. This means the record is full of highlights, and if you get hooked, for instance, by the crazy demon vocals on the second verse of “Walang Paglaya” or the reverbed-out East Bay Ray guitar stylings in “Annihilate,” the band won’t beat you to death with that idea for the rest of the record. SOH’s vocalist is a total chameleon, using everything from shouts to screams to grunts to speak-singing to keep every moment on Cost to Live fresh and exciting. Much like the record’s eye-catching artwork, Cost to Live is fully thought-through but not belabored, holding itself to a high standard of originality and execution without losing the rawness and personality you want from underground punk.

Traume: Wrzask 12” (Quality Control HQ Records) Quality Control HQ brings us the debut LP from this Polish punk band who fuses their country’s tradition of intricate yet hooky punk with the stripped-down drive of contemporary hardcore. Those of us who have spent time appreciating classic Polish punk bands like Dezerter, Siekiera, and Post Regiment will certainly hear the through line in Traume’s music, particularly in the guitarist’s dense, intricate riffing style, the rhythm section’s blistering yet agile grooves, and the singer’s ability to balance hooks and aggression. Of the classic Polish bands I know, Post Regiment is the most obvious point of comparison for Traume (they even cover the Post Regiment song “Wstyd,” which is a vinyl-only bonus track on Wrzask), since their singer sounds a lot like Dominika from Post Regiment in places. Traume also share Post Regiment’s rhythmic precision and density, but the way they can also bludgeon you with simple and fast pogo rhythms and driving, down-stroked riffs in the S.H.I.T. school feels totally modern. And as with Siekiera and Dezerter, the guitarist has a way of taking angular post-punk-inspired riffing and squeezing it into hardcore’s faster, more charging rhythms, which (as with those older bands) is a thrilling combination. The songs themselves are sturdy, well-constructed, and engaging, and will keep you listening whether or not you appreciate the influences Traume’s sound draws from.

Atomic Prey: S/T 12” (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung Records brings us the debut release from this new Portland band, which they aptly describe as “a total psychedelic d-beat smasher.” While the phased-out noise guitar and heavy delay on the vocals are definitely giving psych, to me what feels more psychedelic about Atomic Prey is the way this EP takes you on this crazy journey. It’s very brief—six songs in 14 minutes—but Atomic Prey touches on a lot of hardcore punk sub-styles here, from full-on crasher crust pounding to brooding and organic anarcho rhythms, to driving pogo-punk, galloping d-beat, ENT-influenced chaos, and beyond. While Atomic Prey is pretty much always in full-bore attack mode, these subtle variations keep things from falling into a rut, making it feel as though the energy level is constantly spiking. On the surface, there seem to be no dynamics here at all because it’s all so harsh and noisy, but there’s so much happening in these songs in terms of tempo, rhythm, and atmosphere that each one feels like it contributes something unique to the record. A real scorcher.

Human Trophy: Primary Instinct 12” (Iron Lung Records) Iron Lung Records brings us the second album from this grimy, noisy death rock band. Their first album came out on Drunken Sailor in 2021, and while we actually still have a couple copies in stock at Sorry State, I don’t think I listened to the band closely until now. Perhaps it’s that I approached Human Trophy at the right time of year—fall seems like the perfect time for death rock—but Primary Instinct has really been hitting the spot. Rather than “goth” or “post-punk,” “death rock” seems like the most appropriate genre tag for Primary Instinct because it’s so heavy and driving, and while the baritone vocals have shades of Ian Curtis, the more direct musical influences are in the Christian Death / Samhain school. As with those bands, there’s a sense of restraint to Human Trophy’s sound that imbues their music with ever-escalating tension that they rarely release. The first three songs on Primary Instinct feature ever-slowing tempos, and when they finally break out into something like a hardcore rhythm on “Devotion,” it feels like the first gasp of air after you’ve been holding your breath for a long time. One benefit of weaving this tension through Human Trophy’s music is that is focuses the listener’s attention, and when there’s a hook like the slightly bluesy, Cult-ish chorus in “Only a Knife” or the big guitar hook in “The Cabin,” it sinks in much deeper. The back half of Primary Instinct also offers some unique moments like the (comparatively) upbeat, sunny rhythm of “Serpentine Grin” (which reminds me a little of “I’ll Melt with You” by Modern English) and the shoegaze-y “Bright Like Perspex.” The murky sound and muted rhythms of Primary Instinct may take you a few listens to warm up to, but once it hits you, this record’s dense atmosphere and ambitious songwriting will keep you absorbed