Maryland-based Two Inch Astronaut has a throwback sound that channels the sludgy math rock that, along with N64 and Dunkaroos, made the 90s sort of tolerable. The band debuted in 2013 with Bad Brother and they're planning to release a second full-length LP later this year on the Brooklyn-based label Exploding in Sound."Dead White Boy," which you can listen to exclusively above, is seven minutes of angsty madness combined with intricate instrumentation and envy-inducing technique. But the band never sacrifices dynamics to show off. They're technical and accessible, so you can reflect, rejoice, and seethe all at the same time.And there's many reasons to seethe. As the band explained, "We wrote "Dead White Boy" around the time all these awful rampage shootings were happening. The song is about how fucked it is that if a white boy in America commits an unforgivable crime, there's reasonable assurance that there will be an incredible amount of press around it, much of which will paint him as some kind of tragic troubled poet. It happens over and over and I honestly think that kind of coverage helps perpetuate that cycle of violence."Have a good weekend, everyone!
Photo: Dylan Johnson
Pre-order Two Inch Astronaut's new album, Foulbrood, on Bandcamp via Exploding in Sound Records.