Posted: by The Editor
Comprising members of Oakland-based bands such as Obsolete Man and Plush Palace, as well as former members of Caulfield, Drought taps into a vein of post-hardcore rarely heard this decade. They remind me most of the sorts of hardcore bands that cropped up on labels like Topshelf ten or so years ago, bands like My Fictions, Caravels, Frameworks–a sort of elevated, melodic screamo sound as rooted in spacey post-rock as pulverizing hardcore. On the band’s latest single, the languid, five-minute “Oh, Javelin!” they embody all the best aspects of bands like those while grounding their sound firmly in the present.
Vocalist Viggy Ram shares that
“Oh, Javelin!” wasn’t the easiest song to write. Though it’s the newest song on this EP, it took nearly eight months to come together. A couple of us were dealing with personal struggles; health scares, medical procedures, and a lot of vulnerability. It was frightening. Our guitarists Eric and RJ came to the band with these heartbreaking melodic parts that really spoke to those fears. So it came together as a love letter to aging. It’s easy to feel like our bodies are all we have, especially when that’s how we self identify. But we’re so much more, and it’s okay to change and accept an unknown future.
Stream “Oh, Javelin!” below.
Drought’s new EP drops June 23rd.
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Zac Djamoos | @gr8whitebison
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