Quicksand
Bring on the Psychics
EQUAL VISION

The ’90s alt-metal movement has had a surprisingly long lifespan. Deftones are bigger than they’ve ever been, Faith No More are set to return and will inevitably headline loads of festivals, and there’s countless kids playing in Snapcase-aping revivalist bands. NYC trio Quicksand continue to also (rightly) be acclaimed as an influential alt-metal act from the scene’s heyday. Headed by Walter Schreifels of Gorilla Biscuits and Rival Schools, the band put out two killer albums in the mid-’90s before breaking up at the end of the decade. Upon reuniting in 2012, they’ve released three solid albums, of which Bring on the Psychics is their finest. When the alt-metal greats are aging this well—in contrast to the inexplicably still-massive Limp Bizkit—can you blame the kids and the older heads for continuing to be so enamored?

A razor-sharp, energetic collection, the 10 tracks on Quicksand’s fifth studio album find the perfect balance between doing what the band does best and successfully trying out new ideas. The former point is important, because Quicksand’s greatest asset is the way they once took rock music’s core, basic components and made them sound wholly distinctive. Opener “Get to It” is a great example: the bouncy breakdowns (led by a great mosh call in “Time is running out”), Shreifels’ distinct yell, the rhythms that alternate between rubbery and lock-step—this is peak Quicksand. Elsewhere, several tracks try on some subtly different styles. The best cut from the album is “Agency,” a constantly ascending (there’s a touch of the Shepard tone about the main riff) anthem that exists on the grandest of scales. It actually recalls Deftones, who Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega was recently a member of.

Produced by Jon Markson—who’s helping to define the sound of the more melodic end of hardcore in the 2020s via his work with Drug Church, Koyo, and One Step Closer—the album’s palette is gorgeous: diamond-sharp drums and the full spectrum of guitar tones, from heavy to interlocking in ultra-lucid euphony. The chorus of “In Full Color” opens with a simple, potent, clean guitar lick, again recalling Deftones, while the Fugazi-esque “Days You Run To” is built on some eerie guitar tones. The band’s signature chunky riffs have also never sounded sharper, from the pummeling grooves of “Get to It” to the needle-sharp final rhythms of the titular closing track. An album whose aesthetic parameters and songwriting nous feel like that of a band half their age, this is a gripping, exhilarating effort from a group whose finely tuned machine is practically overflowing with juice.

FLOOD

The Tenth Anniversay Issue

Steve Lacy, Oh Yeah?

Quicksand, Bring on the Psychics

Helado Tropical, Helado Tropical

Christian Koons

MUSIC, ART + CULTURE,DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

MUSIC, ART + CULTURE,
DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX