High Praise - Spirits Crushed 7"
£6.00
High Praise - Spirits Crushed 7"
£6.00
High Praise - Spirits Crushed EP
Something pretty exciting seems to be happening in punk and hardcore in 2021. It feels like some of the bands from the past few years have finally got to the root of what they want to make musically, made new bands, and are putting out the hits. Covid might have knocked the music industry back a step but check this bullshit theory out - I think the wave has broken, the worm has turned, the bun is out the oven and good things are coming our way. And now we have this: the Spirits Crushed EP by Brighton’s HIGH PRAISE. Wait till you hear it – total refreshment. This six track EP sweeps away the cobwebs of stale pop punk and played out gruff punk and brings forward something totally new. Spirits Crushed is 14 minutes of new British post-hardcore. Within HIGH PRAISE you can hear the influences of their punk ancestry - legendary 90s/early 2000s post hardcore groups like RIVAL SCHOOLS and JAWBOX but unlike those bands, HIGH PRAISE has firm roots in the UK punk scene of the 2010s which gives this release the gruff pop punk drive and hardcore crunch. It’s a new blend and it’ll give pep to ya step. The EP showcases all these influences perfectly - the first two tracks nail HIGH PRAISE’s style of poppy post-hardcore, which then gives way to songs like Let Down and Animal - which are what happens when pop punk grows up, yet is still better than anything else out there today. Preach brings the straight up hardcore aggro and the closer Bite is a dreamy song of joyful abandonment that channels some strong Britpop/PULP vibes.
The production stands out as a major shift – rather than the reverb-soaked trend that has been haunting punk music since TITLE FIGHT kicked it off in 2013, Spirits Crushed has gone for a bigger, cleaner, more natural, slightly ethereal sound that works so well for emotive post-hardcore. Melodic dual vocals, cool guitar leads, and a solid grasp of how to write a really good song, add to this some A* guest vocals from members of DEAD SWANS and GNARWOLVES and you’ve got what might be one of the most exciting UK punk records in a while.
This is a split release with Blind Rage records in the U.S.A
Pressing info
250 on black wax.
