Quarantine: Agony 12″

Description

Our take: If you read last weeks Sorry State newsletter, youre not surprised to see Quarantines Agony LP is Record of the Week. We fucking love this record at Sorry State. We flipped out about their demo tape a while back, and when the band slipped Usman a test press this summer, he dubbed tapes for all of us. Ive been listening to mine regularly, impatient for the vinyl to drop. And now the day has come! Quarantines sound is tailor-made for the SSR crew, furious and unrelenting, but finding space in the cacophony for creativity and craft. You might recognize the vocalist from his previous band Chain Rank, and Jack carries into Quarantine his ability to write a memorable vocal hook. For all the bands who garner comparisons to the Abused or Negative Approach, few of them can craft hooks as memorable as the originators Jack can. The rhythm section is crushing, anchored by Chris Ulshs masterful drumming, which combines inhuman power with a speed and dexterity that will leave your jaw on the floor. The guitars, while locking into the rhythm like any good hardcore band should, frequently veer off course, injecting an acid-fried spontaneity that brings to mind United Mutation. Theres so much going on in these fourteen tracks that its almost too much, and I spent my first couple of listens staring blankly at the speakers, my brain fully occupied with parsing the chaos. Now that the initial catatonic astonishment has worn off, I chant along, air guitar, and air drum, my body powerless against Quarantines relentless rush.