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Released on September 25, 2015 via Flenser Records
It’s become a challenge to differentiate yourself as a post-punk outfit in this day and age. There has been somewhat of a resurgence in recent years that has put forward new works of art in the genre, all thanks to the undeniable influence from the likes of Joy Division, The Sound, Bauhaus, The Pop Group, the list is long and fruitful.
From a modern stand point, plenty of bands have managed to take this bleak, noisy and atmospheric variation of the punk concept and give it a fresh face. Heat Dust from New Orleans’s are the latest to tackle the nihilism.
The record has emerged from The Flenser Records, an undeniable entity in the world of dark, experimental and heavy music that is often twisted as it is beautiful. So to say this is a straight up post-punk record would turn a blind eye to the obvious influence of metal and other doom and gloom. This is again supported by the vocalist, Jasper den Hartigh, who has dabbled in hardcore bands before the eventual formation of Heat Dust, not to mention the fact the band is set to support doom monoliths Thou and The Bodyon an upcoming U.S. tour.
This influence of the label and previous musical endeavours give the band’s sound a nice abrasive edge, a welcoming attribute to the post-punk sound and aesthetic.
The album kicks off with the bleakly entitled and the dirty riff filled ‘Nothing Left To Lose’, setting the perfect tone as to how the album will follow. On first listen, tracks like this and many others may seem as a mere nod to the countless pioneers of the style. Heat Dust, in equal respects, reject and embrace this fact. The tracks wear the influence heavily on their sleeves, however they remain heavy in sound and shake off the typical scarcity in the instrumentation, replacing it with memorable riffs and thick driven guitars.
‘(Hopefull) Alone’ is a fine tuned example of this, simple on the surface, but still interesting and heavy sounding, whilst remaining to be triumphantly post-punk.
The subtle hardcore influences continue to be executed tastefully in tracks such as ‘Seeking A Praxis’, which kicks off with a Minor Threat–esque bass line, before breaking into a solid guitar driven foot-tapper, again reminding the listener of the dark corners of the room wear the music is growing and pounding.
Heat Dust maintain the intensity throughout, before reaching the climax and highlight track of the album, ‘I Allowed Myself’. The dense instrumentation holds back for nothing, creating a heavy swirling density of sound led by infectious riffs and the even more impassioned vocals of Den Hartigh.
After ending on such a high note, the album immediately invites you back for another go in the darkness. Heat Dust have in no way re-invented the wheel, in fact they show the best aspects of the genre with nothing to hide, making this an unapologetic post-punk record. However there is something else to it that allows the blazing tracks to crawl under your skin and drag you down to the dissonant depths from whence it came. Whether its the dense and warm production or the heavy guitar work it doesn’t matter, Heat Dust embrace the genre, play it well and make it their own.
