Is/Is: “Hate Smile”
Twin Cities trio Is/Is received a small face change recently when they replaced drummer Holly Newsom (Zoo Animal) with Annie May. Judging by the first single, “Hate Smile,” from their forthcoming debut full length though their sound doesn’t seem to have suffered. The new track displays the group’s ample talent for layering moody shoegaze melodies underneath swaths of guitar distortion and punishing beats. Vocalists Sarah Rose and Sara Nienaber (Gospel Gossip) at first glance evoke the punk inflected Riot Grrls; however the impression doesn’t last as it is quickly evident that they take their sound to much bleaker, darker places than bands like Sleater Kinney or Bikini Kill ever did. Check out “Hate Smile” below (as well as the video here) and stay tuned for more release details concerning when the record will come out on Guilt Ridden Pop.
— Jon Behm
Is/Is: Site
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