Gouge Away announce new album 'Burnt Sugar,' share "Only Friend"
Florida hardcore band Gouge Away revealed earlier this year that they signed to Deathwish for the followup to their great 2016 debut album, and that it would be co-produced by Touche Amore vocalist Jeremy Bolm and Deafheaven/Joyce Manor/Jeff Rosenstock collaborator Jack Shirley. Now the album has officially been announced. It’s called Burnt Sugar and it comes out on September 28 via Deathwish (pre-order), and the first taste is lead single “Only Friend,” which proves that the band have plenty more of that powerful hardcore that they showcased on their debut. They also took some more risks on this album, as they talked to Revolver about:
Being that this is your first major LP, what sort of ideas did you have for it versus your previous, shorter releases?
The biggest element we had in mind was dynamics. With this record, we didn’t want to turn ideas away because they were “too weird” or wouldn’t have fit on past releases. We just wanted to put out songs that we like. I think that was a major key in achieving the dynamics we sought out. It’s also what we kept in mind while making the track list. On [Gouge Away’s 2016 debut album] , Dies people jumped to the conclusion that we were a powerviolence band because of the 30-second opener on that record and it’s almost like they didn’t get to side B. We very deliberately tried to avoid that this time around.
[…] The new record is heavy on punk and post-hardcore influence. Where did those influences come from as of late?
We all have pretty different influences, which we try to bring together. Collectively, we are influenced by the Jesus Lizard. There’s some Fugazi, Unwound, the Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, Paint It Black, and obviously Nirvana and Foo Fighters. The recording process was also heavily influenced by Jack Shirley’s work and his involvement in Comadre and Everybody Row.
The band is playing home state festival The Fest this October, and they have more tour dates TBA. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, listen to the new song and check out the artwork and tracklist below.
Tracklist
1. Only Friend
2. Fed Up
3. Slow Down
4. Hey Mercy
5. Subtle Thrill
6. Ghost
7. Dis s o c i a t i o n
8. Can’t Relate
9. Stray/Burnt Sugar
10. Wilt (I Won’t)
11. Raw Blood
