Skuund - Social Animal (2022)

As far as I know, it is the second Polish band that is being released by one of my favourite labels, Shore Dive Records. Skuund are from the Northern Poland and successfully combine at least two guitar-based genres, something that is all too well visible at their second (and first one recorded in English) album called Social Animal. 

This is either unorthodox post-punk or unorthodox noise rock. The album opens with a post-rock-like intro that offers a good deal of engaging guitar music, but it is followed by Alaska (my favourite track here) that is reigned by the Martin Howard's post-punk vocals (with a hint of Editors' Tom Smith) and socially engaged lyrics. This song is the best show case of the band's fantastic ability to write super catchy melodies that, at the same time, are strikingly moody and gloomy. Often based on repeated phrases (like in You Can't Hide Forever), with lyrics that usually point at the listener, engaging them even more. The vocals, the melodies, but also the quality of the guitars' sound is top-notch. I'd say this is what drove me to this album, the heaviness and dark energy that flows out of the instrumental parts with It Wasn't What You Took and Bad Days as the best examples.

Social Animal costs 5 USD (though the label's Bandcamp).

Check: Alaska 

Country: Poland

Genre: noisy post-punk

Label: Shore Dive Records

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