Though Jay Demko’s influence on the subcultural music landscape has been broad, his actual musical output has primarily consisted of bands with surprisingly small discographies. From the eight songs that make up Lincoln’s now legendary catalog to the many concurrent and subsequent projects that mostly exist as 7” EPs, retrospective collections, or bootleg cassettes, Demko’s musical endeavors have always favored quality over quantity. On Exit Angle’s debut LP, A Sickness and a Fire, he offers both.

Spanning 11 songs in nearly 40 minutes and mixed by J. Robbins of Jawbox, Burning Airlines, etc., A Sickness and a Fire is an expansive, thoughtful, and masterful debut that revisits and builds upon the angular Washington DC-influenced post-hardcore that Demko first began exploring three decades ago. With the ruminative, mantric qualities of Lungfish, the intricately interwoven instrumentation of Fugazi, and Demko’s unmistakable voice, Exit Angles is a band channeling the breadth of their influences into a singular sound that evokes the past while existing squarely in the present. Bolstered by arresting lyrics that expertly marry the personal and the political, A Sickness and a Fire is a suitable companion piece to isolation and triumph alike.

Legacy can be a difficult thing. As much as it uplifts, it can also tether. But Exit Angles is a band free of restraint or the urge to recreate the past. While the DNA of ’90s emo and post-hardcore is certainly detectable, A Sickness and a Fire is concerned with the now, both in sound and in theme. This is a record with far more to offer than its “past members of” hype sticker.

Order the album on cassette or vinyl via Blind Rage Records here.