If you did your homework, you’ve likely already pledged your soul to the Philly bloodsuckers otherwise known as Drowse. Bruce Hardt-Valenzuela expertly summed up the gloomy hardcore act’s singular sound back in August.
At last, Drowse's debut album, Dance in the Decay, is out tomorrow (Oct. 30th) through Sore Ear Collective, marking said label’s first vinyl release… and what a place to start.
After a smattering of ripping EPs, their long player is the product of a shadowy alchemy. Mixing their firebrand down the line, rampaging hardcore and something altogether more sinister. Plumbing the depths of post-punk’s scuzzier end, the impossibly fuzzed up bass and note perfect martial thudding of drums add a previously unexplored dimension to their sound.
Here's an early stream of the album that No Echo was able to score from the Drowse crew:
After the split lip fury and relentless antagonism of the LP’s opening 11 tracks, the title track and album closer is an absolute revelation, albeit a bleak and restless one. As fit for the fog machine as the VFW, Drowse’s synthesis of dark hardcore and post-punk could yield even bolder rewards.
“The record is, at its core, about the acceptance of death, and the comfort that comes from it," Drowse vocalist Evan Zuk tells No Echo. "There’s a freeing feeling to be found in the knowledge that one day I won’t hear the thoughts, be it friends voices, or purely imagination that I’m alone, and will always be alone.
"The record is a pure expression of the twisted and confused workings nostalgia has on memories. Past relationships, confrontations, whatever you can think of always seem more extreme than the reality.”
I’d be remiss not to mention that Dance in the Decay is as fitting a release as any as we roll not just into the most Hallowed of days, but oblivion itself. A party on the ashes of civilization? I’ll see you there.
Dance in the Decay can be ordered via Sore Ear Collective on 12 inch vinyl, or as a vinyl/t-shirt bundle.
Drowse on social media: Instagram | Bandcamp
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Tagged: drowse
