Chicago hardcore band Kharma prep first EP for Flatspot Records (new song & video)
Chicago hardcore band Kharma have been around since 2015, having released two EPs (2016’s s/t and 2018’s Moment of Violence) and opened gigs for Knocked Loose, Harms Way, Madball, Sanction, and more. They recently signed to the trusty Flatspot Records, and they’ll release their third EP Most Dangerous Game — recorded and mixed by Weekend Nachos’ Andy Nelson — on November 20 via their new label home (pre-order). We’re premiering the title track and its video, which does a great job of showing off this band’s ability to channel brash, heavy, ’80s/’90s-style hardcore and make it feel fresh.
“In my opinion, this record represents a lot of growth for myself and for Kharma,” vocalist Jordan Moten tells us. “We started when we were all just kids in high school that didn’t really know what we were doing. On this record, I feel like we really found our sweet spot and got comfortable in it. These songs are our most mature and aggressive efforts yet.”
Before concerts disappeared, Kharma played the stacked LDB Fest earlier this year, and video of their set (by 197 Media) was just released too. Check out that and the new music video below…
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Must-Hear Hardcore Albums of 2020 So Far
Gulch – Impenetrable Cerebral Fortress
Rotting Out – Ronin
Drain – California Cursed
Power Alone – Rather Be Alone
Xibalba – Años En Infierno
END – Splinters From An Ever-Changing Face
Year of the Knife – Internal Incarceration
Sharptooth – Transitional Forms
Baltimore's Sharptooth made a name for themselves as one of the brightest new voices in political hardcore with their 2017 debut LP Clever Girl (which, among other things, includes a rager called "Fuck You Donald Trump"), and they're now back with their followup Transitional Forms, which is bigger and better in every way. The band now sounds tighter and heavier and more varied, the production is crisper (this one was produced and mixed by Brian McTernan, Paul Leavitt, and Sharptooth guitarist Lance Donati), and the anger that fuels these songs is even more palpable than it was on Sharptooth's debut. As powerhouse screamer/singer Lauren Kashan puts it, the album tells the "story of my personal struggle with the societal, interpersonal, and internal constructs that have left me feeling small, afraid, broken, and utterly hopeless," and you hear how all of that informs the incisive lyricism on this LP.
Compared to Clever Girl, Sharptooth push their sound to new extremes in a handful of new directions. The nu-ish chugs of "Say Nothing (In The Absence of Content)" find Sharptooth at their heaviest, "Life On The Razor's Edge" finds them at their most atmospheric, and at least a couple songs find them upping the melodicism in interesting ways. "The Gray" belongs in the same lineage of melodic hardcore as bands like Modern Life Is War and Comeback Kid, while "153" sounds like a fresh update on the metalcore-tinged hard rock of mid 2000s Every Time Die, and "Evolution" gets a dash of melodic punk from Anti-Flag frontman Justin Sane's guest spot. The variety of the album keeps you on your toes, while the pure rage and adrenaline that fuels these songs keeps your blood rushing.