Using hardcore as a springboard for other genres, the Albany/LA based five-piece have created an effective and masterful blend of jangly upbeat but noisy guitars, melodic licks and driving rhythm sections which cross into other genres and borrow from multiple influences with professional ease. Whether it’s post-punk, post-hardcore, or just post-Cheer, the album represents a step up from their 2018 offering with the band feeling more settled and comfortable in their sound.
Vocalist Patrick Kindlon’s ad hoc method of writing lyrics “to order” in the studio after all the instrumental parts have already been honed to perfection and tracked may be unusual but seems to draw out the best in him – it’s pure in the moment inspiration, it’s real. And it works for them. The lyrical content of ‘Hygiene’ is poetic in its honesty, reflective and at times funny and sardonic, covering a wide range of topics from art to family but with its feet firmly planted in the every day. At times, the mix barely brings Kindlon’s vocals to the surface, the listener straining to catch the odd lyric here and there but the solid instrumentation and melody carries it, providing a backbone for their forays into different styles.
‘Hygiene’ feels like it’s been a long time coming, with the first singles dropped in November of 2021. It’s also been over three years since their last full length (‘Cheer’) which makes these ten tracks and 27 minutes both frustrating and exciting, and incredibly moreish. Drug Church are a drug in themselves. There’s something so satisfying about the riffs on ‘Plucked’ with their classic post-punk vibe, the odd minor note thrown in and the soft echo on Kindlon’s impassioned vocal delivery. Then there’s the Milk Teeth-esque sound of ‘Super Saturated’ and ‘Million Miles Of Fun’: high-quality upbeat melodic punk.
The slightly off-kilter jilted guitar drone on ‘Premium Offer’ is both addictive and haunting: oscillating round the ears, it shouldn’t sound this good, but it does; playing around with builds and releases. ‘Piss & Quiet’ is one of the heavier, faster offers and full of classic punk energy and attitude with relentless guitar rhythms driving throughout. In relation, finale track ‘Athlete On The Bench’ has that cult-classic 90s melodic hardcore vibe. It’s soaring, uplifting, emotional and beautifully constructed. A fitting end to a fantastic album, its one of the longest tracks on the record but every second counts.
Drug Church really fill a gap in the market. There’s not really many bands out there doing what they do right now and although they’re proud of their ‘outsider’ image and have never strived to fit in, if one album was going to make that leap for them it might just be this one, while still slotting comfortably into the underground. ‘Hygiene’ is pure alt-punk fist-pumping shout-along goodness that will make you think, shiver with delight and hit the play button all over again.