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The Neighbourhood Drops Sinister (And Seductive) Surprise EP 'Hard': Listen
The Neighbourhood
Somehow in a single beat or an airy breath, California-based alternative band The Neighbourhood
(The NBHD) can send a shiver down your spine and get you deep in your
feelings. It's an undertow present throughout each of their releases,
and it's especially wrapped up in the sonic fabrics of their latest
surprise effort.
On Thursday (Sept. 20) the alt group began teasing a new project, and subsequently dropped the Hard EP, out via Columbia, on Friday, without any warning to fans, sharing their first follow-up to their 2015 sophomore record Wiped Out! The
new five-song collection finds a progressive sound for the band,
delving into experimental electronic spaces while upholding their
cryptically stylish rock-infused sound, as frontman Jesse Rutherford
explores a particularly dissociative affect.
Since The NBHD’s debut, a dark moodiness has become a band signifier, infiltrating their divergent, hip-hop heavy #000000 & #ffffff mixtape and seeping into their recent full-length with further emotional intrigue. But now on Hard,
Rutherford hauntingly trills something even more artistically frigid,
as if the gust of an ice storm sends him to detached introspection on
tracks like stand-out opener “Roll Call,” “Noise,” and “Sadderdaze”
while he evaluates exactly who he aspires and refuses to be. Over
echoing production that turns Rutherford’s vocals into a hallucinogen,
as well as slinky, rhythmic instrumentation -- even immaculate string
sections -- the reflective songs evoke a sinister sensuality.
Even
with the EP’s hardness, tracks like “You Get Me So High” and “24-7” see
the group dwelling in a more positive light, evaluating relationships
over shimmering electronic work -- a possible new sphere for the SoCal
outfit that have proven they refuse to mold to a single genre.
Malleable and moody, Hard
is The NBHD’s Cali cool at its best -- inspiring imagery of the group
cruising along the coastline, smoking a blunt -- as they come up through
the haze to reveal where they are going next, while they seduce with
their newest project.
Listen to the Hard EP below.
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