Post-hardcore? Who the hell said that? Well, maybe but I have other thoughts about the fuckery concocted by Kansas City, Missouri’s Abandoncy and its new EP Assailable//Agonism (Learning Curve Records/The Ghost Is Clear/Vina Records), a release so deliberate, heavy, and innate, it takes three labels to hold it down. Yes, there are extremes here that might just surpass the imagery of a post-hardcore outfit, as Abandoncy takes a more calculated approach, letting go with semblances of free jazz and improvisation. Yes, it seems the group experiments on its song structures but the integrity of those building blocks is strong. Here we have six songs that are outrageous, bleed superfluously, and attack with feverish deliveries. Post-hardcore? Indeed.

BEEF – II MANZO

Beef is not what Jay-Z said to Nas, Beef is, well, a Cincinnati, Ohio garage/synth-punk 4-piece. The name itself pretty much spells out trouble in this day and age but the Cincy band? Let’s just say, they’re here to stir shit up. While there isn’t a lot to say about the group, it’s been releasing music since 2021 and in a short period of time, has evolved with a sound that’s clear and concise since its formation.

The band has just released its 4-song 7” single Il Manzo (Goodbye Boozey Records) which clocks in at just seven minutes. While the band’s songs may be brief, they’re not short in depth. Beef has a knack for melody and it’s clear in the punchy revved punk of “Dumbshit,” where everything moves in overdrive with fuzzed-out bass, loose drums, psychotic keys, and distorted guitars at 11. There’s method to the group’s madness, getting in everything it needs to in under a minute and a half. It’s powerful, as is “Spell” that’s tightly knit around its keys which brings to mind another psycho-spazz-punk outfit out of Ohio but Beef isn’t a carbon copy, doing things its own way.

Well, the band rounds out the release with two tracks, the first being a reworked version of an earlier track of its own fiery “Secondhand Toe Jam,” filtered with grimy garage oil and garage floor crust. Beef doesn’t give you too much time to enjoy it, letting the rhythm ravage ears before quickly dissipating. At two minutes long, “I’ve Got To Find Out” bludgeons listeners from start to end, riding a crescent wave of distortion.

Ok, so the band may not have much to leave listeners with but what it lacks in length (pause) it makes up in power, ingenuity, and prowess. Il Manzo is some good Beef and the band is here for it.

BRIGHT EYES – FIVE DICE, ALL THREES

Some have always found Bright Eyes an anomaly. Bear with me because conversations revolving around the band always seemed to revolve around fragility, and melancholy, which always seemed to lead to an abrupt end. Fortunately, that’s never happened and since the band’s inception, we’ve heard a wide array of sounds that have been unexpected. With the new Five Dice, All Threes (Dead Oceans) we continue to witness the evolution of Conor Oberst’s songwriting.

Throughout the new album, it seems all three seasoned members – Oberst, multi-instrumentalists Mike Mogis, and Nate Walcott – have upped their game, loading the release with a variety of sounds and emotions. From the start, the quirky and catchy piano-driven “Bells And Whistles” bounces with youthful fervor, while “El Capitan” contains an assortment of styles, with a rhythm that dwells deep in country & bluegrass while also fitted with mariachi-styled horn play as it closes out.  

But it always reverts to the morose and melancholy Bright Eyes is known for that we listen to so intently to. With “Tiny Suicides” the band is able to evoke the pain felt through Oberst’s vocal delivery and words from broken relations. The band bounces back a bit with “All Threes” featuring Chan Marshall (Cat Power) as she sings alongside Oberst, adding a delicate quality to the track. But it’s Walcott’s piano solo here that’s utterly captivating. This just might be the band’s best song in quite some time, that is until it erupts into “Rainbow Overpass” which features Alex Levine (The So So Glos). It’s a raucous affair, the band definitely ante up here, with overdriven instruments and clear-cut right-for-the-throat melodies! And then there’s “Hate,” where Oberst tosses around his distaste for religious idolatry and when he sings “I hate Mary Magdelin / I hate the way she washed His feet / they still called her a whore / Jesus Christ I hate You now and I hated You before” there’s mixed emotions. He doesn’t stop there though as L.A. shaman, Abraham, Mohammed, Vishnu, and so many others can get it as well. All this over a melancholic backdrop and when he adds, “Don’t you know the bad guys always win?” we can understand where the resentment comes from. This might just give us all something to think about.

If we take away anything from listening to Five Dice, All Threes is how the songs are loosely pieced together but eloquently delivered. The songs aren’t forced and flow freely. That’s never an easy accomplishment. Bright Eyes made a really good album.

THURSTON MOORE – FLOW CRITICAL LUCIDITY

For many artists, creativity is a continuous process that never has need for pause. For some, it’s more than most. Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) has never been short of imagination and it shows in his exponential catalog of music that ranges from his band work to improvisation, experimental, and collaborative work. While he’s released instrumental releases and singles since his 2020 proper full-length, the stunning By The Fire, he’s just released Flow Critical Lucidity (Daydream Library Series). On the new album, we hear Moore taking a slightly different approach.

Moore takes his time from track to track on the new album as he allows melodies to take on a life of their own. On “New In Town” repeated notes ride the percussion surrounding them, with a lingering dissonance pulled in by the undertow. It’s slow and drawn out but it never lingers into boredom. He opens “Sans Limites” with piano and lightly hammered guitar notes before Moore plunges right with guitars pushed to the forefront, as we should expect. The piano within is still evident as notes are sporadically punctuated, and the song moves in more than halfway through before drums insert themselves. It’s at this moment you might find your head nodding to the catchy melody. Strings are added for good measure and Stereolab’s Lætitia Sadier pops in briefly sharing her voice to sing the album title.

Rarely do we find Moore moving past a mid-tempo rhythm, as we’re hit with chords and notes that are easily traced back to his previous work. It’s clear we hear his “sound” or identity but is welcomed, and on seven and a half minute long “Hypnogram” its completely recognizable. The track is rhythm-heavy with just the right amount of guitar notes revolving around it as he laconically sings across the bed of music. The song echoes and sways and keys are added in allowing it to move with an infectious fervor. The closing “The Diver” seems to take things a bit further with a hypnotic rhythm, covered in beautiful notes that move with ease around it. Less is more here and Moore doesn’t add in anything that isn’t needed and it’s masterfully done.

With classic recordings already left in the past, with his continued works and Flow Critical Lucidity, Thurston Moore is obviously looking towards the future and his latest release lets us all know there’s much more to come.