Crashing manically between our insatiable post-quarantine taste for live music and the “new normal” of rock music that sees acts like black midi and Squid renegotiating the genre’s standards is “Hecky Skelters,” the latest single from Godcaster and an introduction to the East Coast punks’ latest collection of songs, Saltergasp. The EP is preceded by the same rambunctious sounds that fueled last year’s Long Haired Locusts with a bit of that release’s wonky appeal swapped for a basement-venue lo-fi charm.
There’s still plenty of playful energy embedded in the chaos, though, with the layered post-punk vocals and uncontained guitars invoking the same type of over-the-top stage presence mastered by groups of The Armed’s ilk. There’s also that song title, which reads like a four-year-old’s introduction to Charles Manson. “Hecky is the moniker of [vocalist Von Kolk]’s old roommate,” the band explains. Kind of. “The song is a frenzied relay towards the loudest sound.”
Hear the frenzy below, and expect Saltergrasp out November 5—pre-order it here.
