stolen record artwork from bandcamp

REVIEWING THE NEW DRUG CHURCH YASSSSSSSSS

(sponsored by, but not really…white claw surge)

Okay Marcus. You haven’t shut up about this band (and side projects) since we met, dragged me to a Self Defense Family show once, and I have nightmares about the Worst Possible Timeline with how often I hear that pod.

So

Fine

Let’s have this drink and discuss

WPT was quintessential COVID (and thereafter) listening for yours truly

So are you ready?

Yeah ready

— Fun’s Over–

Fine this intro is cool and I don’t hate the vocals

This song is “fuck art” isn’t it? Like that’s gonna be the vibe?

Junebug is staring holes thru me asking for my thoughts…or food

catchy one right off the bat

really hooky

I think I like this song more than I like Drug Church

And I only ‘like’ Drug Church cause I guess I missed the wedding vows of “and I’ll support you through your love for this band”

Haha basically a more articulate less drunk version of the Discourse (™️) in our household, especially in the absurdity of life/society during+post covid

Which obviously I must have drunkenly said.

Got it on Talkboy

Well…

We can seamlessly move to the new song cause really all our content is

— Super Saturated —

Sweet intro

unleash pushmosh

This feels like it might drag a bit and won’t be my thing so excited to be proven wrong

90s as all hell. definitely in vein of the stuff I’d recommend people or post on Facebook at 336am on a given night

Okay no I think this is a really good “I’m done with this shit and gonna live my own life” song

hallmonitors touch grass energy

Okay remind me to revoke your internet access.

Loving this song though in all seriousness

It’s still kind of dragging to me but that’s this sound, there’s a reason I never fully got into this band before. It’s good though.

At least the song length is enough as to where the next track is usually raring to go in short order

Also, huge plus points to the band or whoever in charge of it for releasing the lyrics as well.

— Plucked —

This is more energetic than the last song to me.

Old and sad and jaded.

Mostly jaded.

💯

Your comment off-screen might have been right. This could as well be a concept album

::bopping head to this track::

It feels like, well, being older and jaded and not understanding what the fuck is happening to the world, but not wanting to be a part of this shit.

Even musically, it’s just that droning urgent panic

There’s a reason why I have an inability to STFU re: this band

Crispy seltzer::this sound

We don’t want the flat stuff

— Million Miles of Fun —

Zero tolerance

Do I need to hit play or can you imagine this song from scratch by now?

Just play it lmao

(full disclosure: I’ve listened to this song an obscene amount of times; might have even been on our top tracks on Spotify at the end of last year)

Well you do have a questionable taste. Though I like this song.

Not just questionable…but QUESTIONABLE

1000 percent makes sense why this track was one of the singles that came out ahead of the album.

I always tell people that when they focus too much on the news and the world around them, it’s a sign they’re mentally not doing well. Not as an attack, literally as it’s easier to not be in control of the world around you than admit you’re not in control of your own life.

Chorus for this one has been in my head for months

Unplug external, plug in internal

And I think this song does musically and lyrically hit that point where you get so frustrated and overwhelmed and forget about yourself

But can’t change the world if you can’t even get along with your neighbors, basically.

Like I said, old jaded and frustrated

That should be the record title.

Honestly, I’ve felt this song when seeing people ranting about covid and other lousy world events beyond one’s control other than red team vs blue team on the interwebs

— Detective Lieutenant —

I cannot spell Lieutenant.

Okay I really like songs that start straight with vocals.

Really like this open too

So already a weak spot of mine.

Almost more spoken word than a song.

“I won’t toss away what I love”

-me, playing Sevendust for the 900000th time

Okay spending two seconds staring at the lyrics and this has to be about bands being cancelled over fucking up, but those songs and moments still being valuable

Ah yes, how family should be…this stanza

Maybe even the entire… we all fuck up.

Well yeah we all fuck up dude. That’s what it is. That’s what life is.

The fact that we’re all alive is proof positive of it

Either move on or get out. But you can’t just pretend one fuck up takes away all the things that once mattered.

Man, the hooks for this one are lodged real deep in my brain

This song is super solid. Just musically it keeps going, there’s no “this is dragging” feeling on my side, it has a build-up.

One of my favorites so far.

👍🏾

— Tiresome —

I feel like I heard this intro already

You might have.

Oh hey remember when we talked about every band having a “Single Mother appreciation” song?

This is it.

Also, do I spy a Leatherface shout-out (Mush was their most well-regarded album) in the lyrics?

This band also has a lot of opinions they don’t know how to give a place don’t they?

That intro ripped btw

Can’t say these lyrics are autobiographical or anything but definitely feel like a sort of word soup between my ears in tryna make sense of the time spent existing

This song does have some “do you even lift bro” energy haha

Do for self

Do for me.

Do for woofle

Ah man, definitely a vibe

Marcus you were complaining about lifting bags filled with the filling of pillows today.

Nah, just annoyed at trying to tie said bag together.

Also I saw this and feel like I’m ready to act on a solution

So this song makes you wanna lift. Got it!

W

— World Impact —

This song reminds of sick sad world for some reason

Sorry I don’t speak American what is this song about

Okay I love this vocal delivery switch in the chorus a lot.

Or hook moreso than chorus

Not professional, not music journalism, etc.

Like imagining a clip of this song during Daria as sick sad world gets mentioned in a commercial

It snarls

I also like this bridge thingy.

MOSH

Oh wait is this the song that should end here and now goes on another minute or so?

2 minute song. Brisk, dude

Yeah so it was another 20 seconds, but it’d be so much better after the first collision part as an end. No outro. Just that loud explosion and ending.

Maybe. I don’t know music okay?

I just know me.

Fair enough. I think that’d have worked too.

— Premium Offer —

I bet this song isn’t about malt liquor.

LMFAO

This intro is… fascinating

This is the one single off the new record that I largely avoided. Not because I figured I’d have an issue with this song or anything but it was the third one that dropped ahead of the record and I wanted to wait.

So far this is one of those records I’d have ignored but then would have found the lyrics and it would draw me in

singer of Husbandry also does vox on this one

Being familiar with this sound helps a lot to appreciate it.

Ah that’s why she sounded familiar! That was a good show, Husbandry!

This song sounds almost… sad.

Sure was! Will need to deep dive into their material at some point

Like the song feels like regret and loss of what you thought was normal

But this track, definitely smolders a bit more. Feels very resigned

That’s the word I was looking for.

Resigned.

It even ends like that.

Ah!

It just resigns. Fine. Whatever.

Yep. This one definitely stands out from the rest of the album (thus far)

— Piss & Quiet —

Only to kick hard again here.

nother I’m done with the world song?

can get behind this vibe

Yeah it’s a you song.

Wordplay is ace on this one

Well, shit…and its done

I don’t know. It’s not bad, it really isn’t. But it’s not hitting me with a lot. Frustration, I guess, but that’s the entire record. It feels like it’s a record about figuring out yourself and your place in the world

Especially when in a public role, like an artist, and in a globalizing world that expects us to care about every thing all at once, when we barely know how to care for ourselves.

I think for me maybe it connects differently because I felt life change during/after COVID, but in a way that felt even pettier and more of circular firing squad than the world as it was in say, 2018.

Supposing I relate to that level of outward resentment quite a bit.

— Athlete on Bench —

Very 120 minutes sounding in the open, as has been a lot of this album

Okay musically it’s the “this is who I am” song of the record isn’t it?

Some bands have the “we’re all gonna be okay” song, some have the “this is who I am” song.

To an extent, but getting a massive people should just fucking log off vibe too

I’m digging this. This has the feelings I like. It’s urgent and nostalgic, it’s sad and optimistic.

Good closing track

“The endless stress that you feel is masturbation” is a way better way to say some people like being sad than however I said it.

It is. It’s got the sound of a closing track.

Getting that sense too, actually

I’m genuinely surprised at how good this mix is. For bands with this sound it’s hard to get that as a sound that still feels whole.

Yeah, this is a great song. Four minutes that felt like two? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Okay. Based on this, I’ll give this band another go. We do have tickets to their show anyway.

Maybe it’s not as bad or outside my personal likes as I thought

Hard to articulate but definitely that sense of holding on to self and creating as labor of love were things I got out of it

I think that this record made me think about my place in the world, and that’s usually a good thing. I like when a record makes me think about that.

And I don’t mean the effect I have on the world, but the word its effect on me.

I definitely think this is their best work to date in terms of the songs themselves and how massive it all sounds.

It sounds so full compared to other stuff.

(as someone who had hit your head in heavy rotation whilst shithoused and meandering thru downtown Binghamton tryna kill time for Rumble Ponies games back in 2015-17)

But your entire life has a Drug Church or related tm song as a background track

And?

😅

And… I didn’t realize how serious you were about your love for them when you went “BUT MAAIKE SELF DEFENSE IS PLAYING WE NEED TO GO”

I even remember liking that show.

Haha, and I’m not even all that crazy about SDF (was more partial to the dischord records type emo sound they had under end of a year)

Of course you’re needy

Okay in closing. This is a good record. I’ll probably give it another listen and might get into the band.

It won’t be immediately on my “best records ever” list but it sounds like something that’d grow on me

Thinking that definitely will be a record that we’ll discuss again at years’ end


Listen to it here: https://drugchurch.bandcamp.com/album/hygiene

Leave a Reply