City Of Industry – I Digress EP

The City Of Industry is an intense hardcore punk trio coming from Seattle, Washington. These guys are no strangers to our blog, considering that we’ve had the privilege to review Conspire Conspire Conspire, their debut full-length record. For those who’re not familiar with the City Of Industry, their music carries a meaningful message, enhanced by the clever mixture of engaging subgenres of hardcore punk music. The trio constructs a well-structured wall of noise by including all the vital elements of darkened hardcore punk, crust punk, and powerviolence. These elements accommodate all the basic rules of the contemporary hardcore scene, but the entire band provides even detailed explorations into the mentioned subgenres. Whoever scratched the surface of these genres, acknowledges how ferocious this blend may appear when the particles perfectly align. These guys achieved what they were aiming for by breaking all the boundaries and being creative enough to deliver their version of the darkened hardcore punk sound. I Digress EP is their most advanced material that serves as a proper continuation of Conspire Conspire Conspire. The release includes two compositions, a brand new track, and a cover song of Gouge Away, which is initially performed by legendary Pixies. The production on this one is quite similar to their previous material, but it seems that all the instruments have been produced, equalized, and leveled up better than on Conspire Conspire Conspire. I Digress initiate with melancholic harmonizations, followed by mid-tempo rhythms performed over toms, and snare drums. The arpeggiated guitars provide saddened melodies, layered with generous portions of pleasant distortion. The band proceeds at the same pace throughout the complete composition, but that doesn’t spoil all the fun. Quite the contrary, this track transmits a dose of desperation, inability to transform, but eventually evolves into the raging hardcore punk anthem. This particular tune bursts with raw emotions, leaning towards the depressive feeling. The group catalyzes desperate screams transformed into beautiful melodies to change their surroundings for the better, and they unquestionably succeeded in it. Gouge Away comes up next. Right with the commencing low-end tones, City Of Industry showcases that the Seattle grunge scene heavily influenced their songwriting, at least with some fuzzy aesthetics demonstrated through their music. The group liberates massive dosages of energy through a more aggressive version than the original one, but they retain the arrangements intact. It seems that the vocals are showing an emotive side than the chants performed by Black Francis, so that’s another pleasant addition to this perfectly executed cover tune. The City Of Industry somehow managed to capture the ambiance of the Pixies and elevate Gouge Away onto another level. This material comes with brilliant macabre cover artwork that’s probably made up of photo manipulated images. It showcases the singular entity separated into several transparent characters. I Digress EP is available at the City Of Industry Bandcamp page for free, so give it a couple of spins and support the work of this marvelous band.