Drug Church: Paul Walker

Drug Church
Paul Walker
No Sleep

In it’s innumerable complexities, off-shoots, and flat-out desecrations, post-hardcore is one of the few segments of ’90s DIY culture in the midst of revival. And while most at the forefront of this resurrecting genre participate in timbre alone, Drug Church is a band composed of members who actually participate in, or are currently coming out of hardcore to write and perform this more tempered and melodic styling of hardcore-infused music – a unique position these days, to say the least.

On their third release – and first full-length album since surfacing just a year ago – Drug Church present a raw, belligerent take on Quicksand-era alternative rock. Led by vocalist Patrick Kindlon (also of End Of A Year, Self Defense Family), tracks like “Learning To Speak British” and “Shopping For A Belt” are unabashedly middle of the road, train of thought anthems for hardcore lifers. Fiery and volatile in his delivery, Kindlon hollers over the band’s headstrong riffage, bringing to mind the ethos of past waves; when photo shoots and pitch-perfect drums were a thing of sacrilege. All in all, Paul Walker is what you get when a group of post-recession hardcore kids, pissed off and fed up with the realities of millennial life, grow up, and take their craft beyond the pits of their local VFW halls and into the the more technical and mature.

RATING 6 / 10