Built with concision, the debut LP from LA based hardcore punks, Entry, is a compact and ferocious composition. Showcasing a narrow window of what American hardcore has to offer, they groove and bounce their way through thrashing tracks like Secondary and the New York hardcore style Selective Empathy, the latter of which sees the band slow to a crawl for its outro to maximum screw-faced effect. There’s a decent level of instrumentation on display here with each of the eight proper tracks flying by in a flurry of swinging limbs and angry pathos.
What they lack in originality, they make up for in lyrical narrative; songs like Not Your Decision deal seemingly with bodily autonomy and once again show us that women in heavy genres have the most interesting perspectives around, particularly when barked by the frenzied Sara G. – see Larissa Stupar and Serena Cherry for other wonderful examples. Inspired by the likes of Discharge, Minor Threat and The Exploited the outfit formed by Clayton Stevens of Touché Amoré and G. is a whistle-stop tour through what makes punk great, but never dares to step beyond its claustrophobic boundaries. Punk’s not dead, but this doesn’t breathe new life into it.
Entry’s Detriment is out July 17th via Southern Lord
