SHORT BUT SWEET: REGENTS

Short video previews and promos for new albums are rarely memorable. But watch this one. This one is above average. As soon as it ended, I went immediately to listen to the music, and that led to this post. Watch this, and I bet you’ll be curious about the music, too. If I lose the bet, I’ll send you . . . uh . . . a fond wish.

More about Regents and their new EP after the jump.

Regents was formed by four dudes who’ve paid dues in a bunch of different hardcore bands from the 90’s. Because I’m pretty ignorant about hardcore bands of the 90’s (as well as hardcore bands of the last decade), the names didn’t ring bells with me, but maybe they will with you: Maximillian Colby, Sleepytime Trio, Frodus, TheExploder, Men’s Recovery Project, Battery, and Combat Wounded Veteran.

Maybe you get the idea that I haven’t been into hardcore nearly as much as other genres of extreme music, but as I said above, I was so curious about Regents that I bought a download of their four-song EP (released by Lovitt Records in September).

The first track, “On Boarding”, hooked me pretty fast with a burst of grind-punk, and then it surprised me with a shift in rhythm and instrumental styling — funky bass and psychedelic guitars ringing out in a cool instrumental break before the music exploded again at the finish. And all that happened in the space of about 2 1/2 minutes.

Solitary guitar strumming starts the mid-paced next track, “Cinder Machine”, but the music grows in intensity. There’s a dark, swampy feel to this jam, along with vocals that will peel the paint from your walls.

“Fire Your Brain” fires your brain with more scorching punk-metal, but the band continues to mix up the rhythms and spaces of the song in ways that make it interesting as well as head-butting.

I would like to get on a fishtown party bus with these dudes. “Fishtown Party Bus” is the last song. It fuckin’ crashes and slams, full of hammering, dissonant guitar chords and a demented guitar solo. Kind of sounds like what the B-52’s would have recorded if they’d first been been dowsed with gasoline and set on fire. Or if they’d been F-15’s instead of B-52’s.

So yeah, I did the right thing by following up on that teaser video, and I didn’t waste my $3 on the download. I found something different from my usual fare, something that satisfyingly fucks shit up but has enough interesting twists and turns to make repeat listening an inviting proposition. Check out “On Boarding”:

[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/lovitt-Regents-01-On-Boarding.mp3|titles=Regents – On Boarding]

There are many buying options for the EP at the Lovitt Records Bandcamp page, including a digital download for $3. Check that out here. You can discover more about Regents on their Facebook page at this location.