Screamy fast hardcore that evokes, at times, The Mars Volta and a sprinkling of Detroit's The Armed. But does this brief introduction to the band pack a punch?
It Happened One Night is an all new, yet overwhelmingly familiar jaunt through the sort of screamy, technical metalcore that anyone in the age range of 30-45 would be overjoyed to hear. The First Five Songs is a blisteringly short nine minutes, where you’re blessed with aural dissonance, catchy hooks that’ll worm their way into your brain like that bug thing Trinity extracts from Neo’s belly; and Dillinger Escape Plan-esque weirdo chords punctuated in a strict staccato manner.
It all begins with ‘Fucked Capacitor’ and from the very get-go you’re under assault. The raw screamed vocals, backed up by the pounding cannons of blast beats and off-time riffs. The melody and bassline jig all over the songs, not really giving you a moment’s rest (this is in no way a bad thing), leaving you gasping for air by the end of the track.
And it doesn’t let up from there; maybe the EP is only nine minutes long because that’s all they need to display their wares. The songs meander from dreamy, almost shoegazey soundscapes back to the molten, speedy aggressiveness that helps to punctuate the textural nature of the overall songwriting. ‘Opinion Ender’ sounds the most adjacent to The Armed but a more distilled version of some of their older material, probably because it’s been boiled down into a high-proof shot of rocket fuel. There’s even a little bit of Kowloon Walled City in there, as ‘DJENTRIFIER’ opens with a swirling, melancholy melody we’d expect from the Oakland natives themselves.
There’s not a lot out there in terms of more information about the band; be sure to check their Instagram out (link at the bottom of the page) and maybe just hope and pray they come to a city near you so you can get down to the club and take a beating. It might only last nine minutes, but it’ll be a hell of a pasting and will more than likely just leave you gagging for more.