Priced Out – 6 More Songs

If you paid attention to what’s happening on the global hardcore punk scene, you probably noticed how many bands deliver the same old, repetitive, predictable, bland music all the time, with only a few music outlets offering something more than just plain underground music we’ve all heard thousands of times. It seems like the entire scene has become stale due to overwhelming trends implemented by tastemakers, social media, and streaming platforms. Those bands either mimic something the renowned greats recorded and released decades ago or experiment to the point that it doesn’t sound hardcore. It becomes so difficult to find music outlets that know how to find that sweet spot between social conscious lyricism and catchy, memorable, powerful music that immediately wraps around the listening apparatus and refuses to let go long after the last notes and beats fade away. Thankfully, there are still bands that know how to bring that fresh, unique, innovative sound to the table, and Priced Out is certainly one of those acts that deserve your utmost attention for their sharp lyricism and outstanding music. With “6 More Songs,” they break all the rules and shapeshift the boundaries of the genre while still staying true to the roots. While their music shines with everything you dearly love about eighties and nineties hardcore punk music, this collection of songs also carries that subtle touch of contemporary production that elevates each vocal line, guitar riff, bassline, and beat to an entirely new level. Although the band incorporated all the fundamental elements of eighties hardcore punk music into these songs, you’ll still notice how the rawness, abrasiveness, and aggression of punk rock found its way into this sonic equation, making it even more appealing to the ears. While their music relies upon those catchy, memorable, engaging chord progressions and riffs, Priced Out also throws in some intricate guitar works, making “6 More Songs” as progressive and technically demanding as it could possibly be. Still, the band retains that eighties and nineties sound intact by using modern production and additional orchestrations as more than necessary enhancements, accentuations, decorations, and other details that uplift this material to new heights. Therefore, these combinations of a couple of complementary styles, various techniques, approaches, and directions resulted in an outstanding extended play release that will not only appeal to longtime hardcore punk fans but even those newbies to the genre.

What makes this extended play so good is the tremendous energy. Priced Out fires from all cylinders, delivering rawness, aggression, and power in equal measures. Each composition arrives with perfect structure, decorated with clever arrangements, profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and outstanding musicianship. The vocals play a significant role in this sonic equation by serving as a centerpiece in every song, elevating every riff, bassline, and beat to new heights, commanding attention, and guiding listeners on an epic journey through the expansive sonic universe. The deep, raspy shouts perfectly suit all those heavily distorted sonic maneuvers, emphasizing everything the band intended to achieve with this material. Besides decorating all those segments and orchestrations, the vocals deliver more grittiness and complexity over the top, making these intricate songs even more complex. In the meantime, the interplay between guitars shapes a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll notice how a comprehensive collection of intricate guitar riffs, chord progressions, harmonies, and melodies creates a colossal wall of powerful sound, adding that necessary heaviness that complements the vocal performance. As soon as you hear those guitar maneuvers, you’ll notice that you are not dealing with just another plain and simple hardcore punk record. Quite the contrary, the guitars are on an entirely new level here, making this listening experience memorable as much as possible. Beneath the lush guitar works, you’ll immediately notice how intricate, vividly hearable, warm-sounding basslines lurk around, offering more than necessary heaviness, clarity, and depth while simultaneously binding the mentioned instrumentations and rhythmic patterns. These deep, dense, heavy low ends contribute more groove and detail to those guitar works without overwhelming them, proving that the band thought about everything while crafting these songs. The excellent drumming performance, based upon tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed, well-accentuated, moderate rhyhtmic sequences keeps the remainder of the band in line while dictating groove and pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation over the hi-hat, and splash over the cymbals plays a significant role in building more groove, pace, and dynamics. Everything sounds top-notch from scratch to finish.

Priced Out has created an incredible hardcore punk EP that stands out from anything you could hear on the contemporary scene nowadays. “6 More Songs” is everything you ever needed from complex, dynamic, powerful hardcore punk music, offering a fresh, unique, innovative take on the longstanding music genre. With brilliant ideas, outstanding musicianship, and tremendous energy packed in each vocal, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuver, Priced Out sounds like a band you surely do not want to miss. Head to your favorite streaming platform and listen to it loud!