EIGHT SONGS, TEN MINUTES, ZERO INTEREST IN PLAYING NICE

It’s A Setup turn Spokane hardcore’s political urgency into a compact collision of metallic hardcore and ’90s DIY abrasion

At roughly ten minutes, the album never gives its ideas enough time to become comfortable, and that suits a band whose stated influences run from Chicago ’90s hardcore and powerviolence to Orchid, Converge, Struggle and Groundwork.

Eight compressed songs arrive in rapid succession, with only “Open Your Eyes” dipping below the one-minute mark and nothing overstaying its welcome. “Bleeding Out At Recess,” “Deny, Defend, Depose” and “Making A Killing” hit especially hard as pieces of a record that treats hardcore as confrontation. The sequencing makes the album feellike a sustained argument.

The production is appropriately lean. Drums, guitar and vocals were recorded at Spokane Falls Community College, bass separately at Leadmine No. 4, with the band’s Hayes Noble handling the mix and Will Killingsworth mastering at Dead Air.

For me, the strongest thing here is the refusal to separate the music from the politics. The songs address gun violence, healthcare, war, exclusion and fascism keeping the immediacy that makes hardcore work. I recommend It’s A Setup to anyone who still wants punk that means something to sound dangerous!

Interview with It's A Setup

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out It's A Setup on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist