There’s a new kid in town. 3I/ATLAS – an interstellar object that many ‘scientists’ are calling a ‘comet’ – has just recently entered our galactic backyard. At least one person is already raising the alarm that it’s most likely a malicious alien probe sent to doom humanity, to which we say: ‘about damn time.’ According to this lone report, we’ve got just over two months to enjoy the spoils of Earth before the stock market crashes, money is irrelevant, and we welcome our alien overlords to a new era of humanity. Here are six songs we’re listening to this week to help ease the wait.
AFI ‘Behind the Clock’
If you’ve seen a photo of Davey Havok’s illustrious new mustache and mullet combo, you’d think AFI were prepping the soundtrack for the next season of Monster Jam. As glorious as that sounds, the goth-punk legends are digging their heels into – you guessed it – more goth music. ‘Behind the Clock’ is the first single from the band’s forthcoming album ‘Silver Bleeds the Black Sun’ and it’s sure to have you dancing under a bridge with a bunch of weirdos in no time.
Algernon Cadwallader ‘Hawk’
Legendary emo-revivalists Algernon Cadwallader had already stunned fans enough: first when they announced a slew of reissues, then with a month-long reunion tour a couple of years later. It would be greedy to expect a new album from the Philly legends, but they’re doing it anyway. ‘Trying Not To Have A Thought’ will be the band’s first album in 14 years. The lead single ‘Hawk’ makes that long stretch feel more like a blink of an eye, and finds the group having not skipped a single beat if you don’t count all the time signature changes.
Deftones ‘milk of the madonna’
All legendary bands find themselves the victims of product placement at one point or another. It’s just an inevitability. The latest in a long line of mighty who have bent the knee to corporate interests is unfortunately, Deftones. Their latest, ‘milk of the madonna,’ is nothing short of a blatant advertisement for Madonna’s new health product line ‘Madonna Milk.’ While they do their best to hide this opaque cash grab with brilliant guitar work and vague lyricism, we at the Hard Times know the truth. Killer song though.
Snõõper ‘Worldwide’
Snõõper, a band whose genre can only be described as ‘short-circuiting Devo,’ is back with their latest single ‘Worldwide.’ It’s a psychotic romp that maintains the band’s signature deranged sound that has contributed to their status as one of the most exciting new voices in punk. This song will have you asking the big questions like: ‘Are my speakers broken?’ and ‘Is it supposed to be this tempo?’ Their new album ‘Worldwide’ will be crashing into your stereo or headphones in October so you still have time to figure out your jerky dance moves.
Brian Damage ‘King Of The Opera’
Midwestern power-pop freaks, Brian Damage, just released their fourth album ‘All Hell Broke Loose’ via Anyway Records. It’s a pandemic driven DIY masterpiece that will have you wondering how it’s possible to have so much fun while hearing so many horrifying synth sounds and chord changes. That’s a compliment for those wondering. If you’ve been itching for an album that sounds like The Rentals desperately trying to break their contract as Hell’s house band, this one is for you.
OSEES ‘Abomination’
Can someone do a wellness check on Jon Dwyer? We’ve reported on this before, but there’s no way a healthy individual can be making this much goddamn music constantly. Our only hopeful guess is that he’s some sort of half-man, half-cyborg, half-Casio-keyboard-demo type deal. We understand no one can be three halves, but we have to believe Jon Dwyer is capable of this mathematical impossibility as there is no other plausible explanation. Anyway, OSEES’ 4,578,942nd album ‘Abomination Revealed At Last’ dropped on Friday and it rips as per usual.
We cancelled our Spotify account, so you’ll have to make your own playlist. We’d say sorry, but it’s probably a good thing to force you to take some agency in your own life for once.