Release of the Day: Boulders - Rock And Roll Will Never Die

Boulders, featuring Tommy Conte (of the Ukiah Drag, Cottaging, Cult Ritual) and Cameron Worden, was a project from Tampa Bay in a time before Merchandise became a household name, though the two band members have since split to Providence and Chicago respectively. Now, at the end of 2014, the band's first slab of wax rears its feral head.

Rock And Roll Will Never Die is an exercise in spontaneity. The record was recorded at Heinrich's Workshop in 2011 with minimal editing: there are no overdubs, or second takes, which makes it a rarity in the musical climate of today. Obviously, there's a sense of immediacy, but that doesn't do it justice: the record is urgent, woven with the importance of an exorcism or a cleansing. It needed to be recorded - something at balance was at risk of toppling to one side.

Boulders combine a lot of elements. The vocals actually remind me of Prurient or similar american power electronics, but the instrumental music is in the vein of psychedelic no-wave. A few chords and a plodding early Joy Division/Warsaw beat and the band blasts off. And it sounds like there are more than two people playing, which says something about how hard the band is playing their instruments. The careening, gritting-its-teeth guitar line atop an unrelenting drum beat makes for an intimidating sound, but also a rewarding one.