Check out a new album from AmRep Legends Hammerhead (Show Tonight!)
It’s been 5 years now since Hammerhead “reanimated” (as their bandcamp side blurb calls it) after breaking up in 1997. Last year’s Global Depression re-established the band as a current force and New Directionz is their first full length (though the same amount of songs as Global Depression) since 1996’s Duh, The Big City.
New Directionz still sounds like classic Hammerhead but bent a bit into a more post-punk sound. Clocking in around 30 minutes for 6 tracks gives things a little more freedom to stretch out and experiment. Album opener “Age Of The Troll” kicks things off with some noisey treble guitar before the bass and drums kick into something a little more familiar sounding. Through the album’s 30 some minutes things go from the post-punk Ian Curtis style monotone of “Melted Moon”, the plodding groove of “Zooid” and the epic nearly 9 minute closer “STE-001 (Vlad All Over)”.
In an age of bands getting back together to cash in purely on nostalgia, it’s always great to see bands that can continue to make new and challenging music. Let’s hope this continues.
-Adam
Hammerhead play the Turf Club tonight (10/22) with Qui and Shadow In The Cracks. More details here.
