Autoreplicant
The sophomore EP from Pittsburgh four-piece Autoreplicant offers a raw and aggressive brand of technical metal fronted by harsh vocal snarls that kind of waver toward "singing" here and there. It's almost like a coarse, underground take on an Atheist-ish riffing style, with unconventionally winding passages and fretless bass runs that are just as active as the guitar parts. There are lots of influences at play, from subtly melodic elements to blackened edges; at times there's a hectic, grinding feel to the change-ups; and then they close with a cover of Rush's "The Temples of Syrinx," which is a bit surprising!? Perhaps it's because I've been looking back on a ton of music from 20+ years ago, but aspects of this aesthetic bring to mind the early Willowtip roster. Interesting material, and a definite advancement from their debut, so it'll be curious to hear how they continue to develop. Hopefully it won't be another five years between releases!
Drone Down is available digitally as well as on CD, direct from Bandcamp. It appears to be absent from streaming, and that's fine by me!
Distance
I was hit up by German label Sabotage Records recently, and one release that quickly caught my ear was the debut EP from post-punk outfit Distance, out of Bordeaux, France. The atmospheres and melodies are in line with what one would tend to anticipate from the genre, but the group's unusually catchy sense of driving energy leans on more of a classic punk rock type of influence. The production values also have a slightly more modern edge, where the traditional "coldness" is spiced up a bit with some jangly shimmer. This is quite a strong debut that should bode very well for the future. I'm impressed. Don't sleep on this one.
Le Décor is out now as a 12" EP on black vinyl through Bandcamp (where it's also a name your price download) or direct from the label. For some reason it's really hard to get this to come up in a search on streaming, but it's there: Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
Hubert Selby Jr. Infants
The first full-length outing from Dublin, Ireland's Hubert Selby Jr. Infants kicks up more high-quality noise rock consisting of squirrely riffing over a propulsive rhythm section—as quirkily melodic as it is jaggedly discordant. There's a lot of tempo variation as well, with tracks like "Jail Money" almost harnessing a hardcore/punk undercurrent, whereas the seven-minute "Il Bambino Spettrale" is far slower and offers more breathing room—an entirely different feel that's tough to pin down. They've even included a couple of re-recorded highlight tracks from their 2023 debut. With the LP being a split release with The Ghost is Clear—a label with quite an impressive back catalog—hopefully this material will swerve some well-deserved attention toward the Jr. Infants moving forward. I see absolutely no reason why any fan of well-rounded noise rock wouldn't be fond of these jams.
Bingo is available now on 275 copies of "clown puke" vinyl—in the U.S. through The Ghost is Clear and elsewhere through SuperFi. The band has 'em on Bandcamp as well. If you're the type to stream, find it on Spotify, Apple Music, and so on.
Naysayer
Man, I remember diggin' the early Naysayer material all those years ago, but I think somewhere along the line I got my wires crossed and confused 'em with a different band or something, 'cause I didn't follow closely enough, and when "Demoralized" crossed my path a month or so back... I was floored. I didn't recall the band having such a nasty mid-paced bounce to their sound, but this entire EP fuckin' rules. Just pissed, no-frills metallic hardcore with bitter vocals and a grimacing crunch. I believe this is their first new material in almost a decade, and... is it their best yet!? It's certainly some of the finest new hardcore I've heard in a good while, without a doubt. Excellent.
At this moment, Rage Dreams is digital-only and not on Bandcamp (so I had to grab it digitally through the ever-villainous Amazon), but you can of course stream it through Spotify, Apple Music, and other such outlets.
St. Hood
Helsinki, Finland metallic hardcore greats St. Hood have returned with their first album in eight years, which is only their second album since 2009 (fourth overall)—once more through the excellent Full House Records. And, holy shit, these cats haven't lost a step! It's immediately evident that this nine-song outing churns forth the same powerfully chugging rhythms, metal-tinged riffing, and burly vocals for which the band is so fondly remembered. This is some seriously impressive material, very much as strong as ever—if not more so!? I'm not even kidding, this makes me feel damn near as excited as I did almost 25 years ago when I was first discovering this corner of the Finnish scene, it's that good. And, again, this is better than a lot of what's happening in the U.S. right now, so it certainly deserves more attention. Finland forever. Fuck yeah.
Rebirth is a digital no-brainer as a name your price download on Bandcamp. It's vinyl-only in terms of physical copies—100 apiece on either turquoise or black—via the aforementioned Full House. If the depressing realities of international postage circa 2025 understandably force you to stream, get your ass over to Spotify or Apple Music with some hustle!
With Patience
The debut full-length from Chicago's With Patience continues to experiment with angular post-hardcore that definitely has a Dischord/D.C.-ish vibe to it (mixed by J. Robbins, so there's that little tie-in), though tonally there's a raw grit happening that shifts things elsewhere. It's an intriguing cross-pollination of quirky/mathy riffing with bits of melody and a fuzzed-up density that acts as a weird sort of fake-out with the way it tweaks your perception of what you're hearing without actually breaking the songwriting away from its core essence. The band's a trio that keeps it straightforward and rugged in the sense that there's a lot of space in the mix, so guitar/bass/drums are equal, and the approach is stripped down enough that it doesn't sound like there are any additional layers at all. It definitely has that live—and able to be replicated live—type of feel happening. Pretty cool.
Triptych is out now on pro CD-R (in a full-color digipak and likely with a smattering of bonus stickers) and digital from the band via Bandcamp. If you'd prefer to stream, head to Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
