Drug Church- "Mohawk" (feat. Jeremy Bolm of Touche Amore)

Stream: Drug Church- "Mohawk" (feat. Jeremy Bolm) Drug Church is a side project of Patrick Kindlon, frontman for the New York-based post-hardcore group Self Defense Family, formerly known as End of a Year. Kindlon's output with Self Defense has gotten increasingly more cerebral and arty since the name change, but the recently christened Drug Church seems to be a regression back to his punk rock roots. With chugging guitars and a classic two-step beat, the band's new track "Mohawk" is a straight up hardcore rager. Kindlon's tuneless vocals actually sound fairly focused here, as if imbued with an immediate, raw energy not displayed on the new Self Defense material.

"Mohawk" also features a brief but substantial guest vocal spot from Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré, whose airy yelp contrasts nicely with Kindlon's bark.

This track will appear on Drug Church's debut 7", which will be out July 9th on No Sleep Records. You can also check out another track from the 7", a similarly visceral cut called "Northway", over at Punknews.

La Dispute- "King Park"

I think the first time I ever heard of post-hardcore outfit La Dispute was in a blogTV. Someone had sent me a song to be reviewed, I played it, and a majority of reactions were pretty negative. I think mine was especially bad.

It had to be at least a year ago by now, so I'm positive it was a song from the band's first album, Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair, and I think I had just about every negative feeling you could have with a post-hardcore song: annoying, whiny, melodramatic.

The band has a newly released sophomore album titled Wildfire, and I'm starting to think that it's possible that me and this band just got off on the wrong foot; especially if there are more tracks on this album with the intensity and storytelling of "King Park."

On this track, the lyrics detail a shooting where an innocent bystander was killed. It's something that's usually glossed over in a 30-second story on a local news network, but La Dispute gives the story the detail, intensity, and time such a horrendous act actually deserves.

Stream the song above and look for this album now on No Sleep.