In Rotation: Uglybones - Erasure

Chicago hardcore punks Uglybones return with a blast of breakdowns and pent up aggression. Uglybones have always offered something engaging for "hardcore listeners" and "punk listeners", if those are in fact different people. On 2018's Sunshine, songs like "Animal" really started tipping the scales toward hardcore. The band continues that push on Erasure. Title track "Erasure" is my favorite of the bunch. You can practically sense the high kicks coming around in the pit as the "total erasure" chant rolls through. It's one of the few songs clocking in at longer than 2 minutes on the album, along with "Cheetah" and closer "Night Sun". It doesn't sound like a lot but it does give those songs time to build and explore their space. Of course, songs like "A Promise" and "Hoax" pack a brutal punch at around one minute each.

"Gasoline" is another standout, largely due to the line "I like the smell of gas" and the following heavy section laced with metal guitar licks. Lyrically, the album goes for themes of the times - distrust, disillusionment, disappointment, all those dis- words. Plus anger.

Erasure comes out tomorrow on Don't Panic Records & Distro. This will be the band's first time on vinyl. You can hear the single "Hoax" now, below. Check Bandcamp later for the full album. And don't forget, live music is happening again! The Erasure album release show is coming up on Saturday, August 14 at Pilsen DIY (formerly the Fallout). Uglybones plays along with Noogy, Porcupine, Bovice and Si Dios Quiere. More info on that show on Facebook.