Hi. Welcome back. Now that you’ve rested from your labors and thanked your local union leaders, it’s time to get down to real business again, and Chicago post-hardcore band Slow Mass are here to make sure you stay alert. Guitarist Dave Collis and drummer Josh Sparks were roommates before they became bandmates, and they formed Slow Mass as a way to bounce around ideas that didn’t quite fit with their other gigs—Collis plays with My Dad and Stay Asleep, while Sparks plays with Into It. Over It. and Former Thieves. Along with Josh Parks (that’s right—Parks), also of Into It. Over It., and bassist Mercedes Webb, they recorded an EP called Treasure Pains, which we’re pleased to be premiering this morning.
Collis and Park send streaks of guitar like lightning across the dark skies of Treasure Pain‘s six tracks, while Webb’s voice on “Clint Eastwood” carries us through the clouds. “Portals to Hell,” meanwhile, sounds like it’s impatient with itself for being a hardcore song, eventually working its way to sweet release with a brief velcro-ripping solo. And while it feels like the unified work of a band that already knows what it does well, the nature of the project’s genesis gives Treasure Pains a sense of adventure that make it that rarest of creatures—a hardcore record you need to listen to with headphones. Fortunately for you, you’re back at work. Shake yourself awake and give it a listen below, then check out the band on tour; those dates follow.
10/08 – Chicago, IL @ Landland %
