December is an interesting month for music releases.
Many listeners become distracted by Holiday music and crafting their year end lists to the point where they become more likely to miss those hidden gems I have documented.
Here are three awesome new releases you may have missed for the month of December:
The Beautiful Ones–Beautiful Crü
Genre: Hardcore Punk, Alternative Rock, Dream Pop
FFO: Title Fight, Turnstile, War Hungry
The bipolar personality of Arizona-based collective The Beautiful Ones has always managed to catch my attention. The past few years has seen these hardworking, young musicians push for a split sound entertaining a floral, dreamy presence while attempting to maintain the raw edge of Metallic Hardcore.
Beautiful Crü serves as this month’s surprise EP following up their debut LP Jaded Love back in 2015, and illustrates a separated yet somehow fluid, advanced step in their writing.
Half of the track-listing consists of straight-forward, hard-hitting Hardcore and those that remain push towards the mature, Dreamy rock direction as opposed to trying to meld the two.
I’m not sure if the foundation of Hardcore/Metal is like a security blanket The Beautiful Ones refuses to let go of or if the key to understanding them lies in the striking juxtaposition of the two contrasting sounds.
The fact remains they have a tendency to slay in both areas and successfully recorded a record that somehow succeeds in having these drastically different musical styles flow smoothly.
Minors–Atrophy
Genre: Powerviolence, Blackened Crust Punk, Sludge Metal
FFO: Converge, Cursed, Young & In The Way
Minors storm the scene with a devastating debut LP leaving no traces of life in its path.
The Canadian quartet assaults the ear drums of listeners with a harsh yet ideally crafted mixture of Hardcore, Sludge, Crust Punk, Black Metal. The record’s writing and tempo shifts not only stand out as being seamless but also instrumentally jaw-dropping in every aspect.
Atrophy blows me away not only because it is a powerfully chaotic listening experience, but it
also illustrates a band introducing themselves to the world with an already mastered formula.
Soda Lilies–Sleep Reel
Genre: Psyche Rock, Garage Rock, Lo-Fi, Shoegazing
FFO: My Bloody Valentine, Ty Segall, Wavves
Dallas-based Lo-Fi project Soda Lilies released quite the hidden gem this month.
Sleep Reel contains seven reverb-drenched tunes of pure rock n’ roll recorded in an old, dark apartment free of electricity via extension cords (for some reason).
Special Explosion–To Infinity
Genre: Indie Rock, Emo
FFO: Death Cab for Cutie, Minus the Bear, The Thermals
You have have missed the latest LP from the Seattle ensemble known as Special Explosion. Released this month through Topshelf Records, To Infinity provides a charming, warm listening experience.
Special Explosion utilize a standard Indie Rock sound similar to the likes of Death Cab for Cutie as its sonic foundation whilst toying with subtle influences of various other genres.
Noisey walls of sound, twinkely math rock, and Emo sounds compliment the delicate harmonies provided by sibling vocalists Andy & Lizzy Costello.
To Infinity is a solid, refreshing listen and branches out in unique ways allowing the group to stand out in a sea of bands channeling the same musical styles.