Vidro: Gld 12″

Description

And here we have it, the North American pressing of VIDRO’s brilliant 2nd 12″ titled “GLD.” Featuring an amalgamation of members that span the globe from Brazil to the USA to their sonic and geographical home of Stockholm, Sweden, VIDRO have been churning out quality hardcore punk in recorded and live settings for five years now with no apparent signs of letting up anytime soon. Previously released on Germany’s Kink Records near the outset of 2022, this North American pressing serves both as a means to alert the uninitiated of what they’ve been missing along with providing a taste of what is to come. Each record comes in a jacket with a large poster, featuring design work and art by VIDRO guitarist Lucas Lima.

Our take: Stockholm, Swedens Vidro has been kicking around for a few years, releasing their debut full-length in 2018, a split LP with Brazils Cankro in 2019, and now Gld, their second full-length. I first heard Vidro about a year ago and wondered how a hardcore band this good could fly under my radar. Their sound is massive, with a straightforward hardcore foundation that leans toward noise rocks more sophisticated pummeling strategies. The band can play their asses off, their wrecking ball rhythm section anchored by drummer Staffan (who played in a later lineup of Headcleaners!). Rather than relying on flashy fills, Staffan creates skewed takes on classic punk beats that he delivers with the uniform intensity of heavy industrial equipment. Guitarist Lucas favors dense and dissonant chords, giving the music a richness of texture that reminds me of Die Kreuzen and Nog Watt. Vocalist Vendela fronts this white-hot band, matching the instruments magical blend of subtlety and intensity as with the music, once you stop recoiling from the initial attack, you hear all this subtle musicality in the vocals that keeps you coming by for repeated listens. Im hard-pressed to find any close comparisons for Vidros style, though the battering-ram intensity of their mid-paced tracks will appeal to fans of Golpe. If you cant tell, Im smitten with Vidro and Gld, and Im stoked the record has an appropriate American home on Beach Impediment Records, the top label in the game.