So Pitted – “holding the void / the sickness” (Singles Going Steady)

Ari Rosenschein: Wire meets the Fluid on the most postmodern release Sub Pop has offered thus far. There is a Cobainesque guitar solo, and Dino Jr. touches everywhere. Grunge. ‘90s. Nirvana. Sonic Youth. There, I included them all. But actually, a fresh, fierce sound is developing in So Pitted’s rehearsal room. [6/10]

Magdalen Jenne: It’s sloppy, predictable garage-punk that delivers on exactly what it’s offering, no more or less. The beginning and end both drag — a moshable adrenaline rush is appealing in part because of its brevity, and I’m afraid this track has given the audience more than enough rope to hang themselves with. Upping the energy at around 2:40 for that instrumental section goes a long way towards lending some longevity to the song, but not long enough. [5/10]

Chad Miller: More interesting by nature of the lost words/ uncommon production techniques than by actual merit of the music. There’s just not a lot to set it apart from contemporaries in that department other than a nice guitar solo. [4/10]

Jedd Beaudoin: It’s like 1991 all over again, eh? Kind of. It’s like I accidentally washed my Tad cassette with my Ministry cassette and then tried to play them back on the table saw. Nifty idea. Let’s see where these guys go. [7/10]

Sam Taylor: It’s no surprise Seattle’s So Pitted have signed on to Nirvana’s original label, the legendary Sub Pop. On holding the void / the sickness, the band sound like a pale imitation of their precursors, stripping the best bits of Kurt and company’s raucous debut Bleach — keeping the sound, but squandering its potential with needlessly oblique distortion and indecipherable vocals. So Pitted’s other tracks seem to fare a little better, and holding the void / the sickness admittedly picks up a good groove in its chorus, but its ultimately too shallow, lacking the bite and the charm of the other grunge devotees operating today. [4/10]

Ryan Dieringer: Impressive that they’re on Sub Pop and keeping it really real and releasing a scuzzy live recording. It’s all got a major throwback vibe to ’90s punk — reminds me of those Nirvana Outcesticide bootlegs. [6/10]

So Pitted‘s new album neo releases February 19th via Sub Pop.

SCORE: 5.33