We all have that band that we are guilty of sleeping on while everyone and their mum is recommending them to you. Well, Drug Church is exactly that band for me. The group have been on the tips of a lot of people’s tongues for consistently putting out their own style of post-hardcore album after album and have rightfully gained a lot of recognition. However, when I feel that a band is already getting recognised and has all ears on them, I feel less inclined to check them out. Dumb brain makes dumb decisions.
Possibly the only reason I finally pulled my finger out and gave Prude, Drug Church’s fifth studio release, a chance is because hardcore hero, current Thursday guitarist, and sole content creator/writer for hardcore webzine Anti-Matter, Norman Brannon (also ex-guitarist Texas is the Reason and Ressurection) conducted a revealing and fun interview (which is now behind a Substack paywall) with Patrick Kindlon, singer of Drug Church. The two spent a lot of time discussing Patrick’s upbringing and thoughts on the scenes he grew up in that ultimately paint the picture of someone who does this because it’s his release. He could give a fuck what I or anyone else think.
So with that said, I should probably get round to the part of the review where I tell you what I think… well, unsurprisingly, I think it’s great but for a bunch of reasons I guess I wasn’t expecting.
Firstly, I wasn’t expecting such a catchy, well-produced album. It reminds me of Turnstile in a couple of ways, like in the sense of there being a lot of melodic charm to the riffs and bounciness to the rhythm section. Hell, the riffs on “The Bitters” or “Demolition Man” could fit in pretty well on GLOW ON.
Secondly, similar to GLOW ON, this is both a hardcore album and also very much not a hardcore album. It’s got all the sensibilities of the hardcore bands these guys probably grew up admiring but with lots of grunge and punk rock flavourings that are welcome treats for a first time listener. Drug Church are very unapologetic about doing their own thing and it comes through in their music.
While Nick Cogan (guitar), Cory Galusha (guitar), Patrick Wynne (bass), and Chris Villeneuve (drums) provide fresh and excellent music – sometimes fuzzed out and angry like on “Mad Care” or wonderfully pop punk-esque like on “Slide 2 Me” or “Yankee Trails”. There’s so many textures and different looks that the band offers that go far beyond fast-paced riffs and frantic drums.
Before giving this album a listen, I’d already gathered that Kindlon was a lyricist of sorts from his interview. He has a descriptive yet surprisingly straightforward storytelling approach that benefits from his mostly strain spoken-word-like delivery. There’s a real talent for sharing perspective on varying topics, like discussing a sense of purpose on “Demolition Man”, and runaways on “Hey Listen”, or even armed robbery gone wrong on “Slide 2 Me”, to name just a few. You kind of don’t know what you’re going to get with each song. Sometimes it’s a sour take on the retail/service industry’s abuse and abandonment of people who work those jobs, other times it’s a funny retelling of a cousin’s hare-brained scheme to elicit drug money from his mother.
Having sat with Prude for a bit now, and given myself some time to listen to a few of Drug Church’s previous albums, I think that sonically this is the best they have sounded. It is a catchier, more well-produced, natural progression from Hygiene, and it is a hell of a lot more positive than 2018’s Cheer. With their fifth album, Drug Church have seemingly refined and condensed their sound, curling up further into the niché they have carved for themselves over the years. But don’t get is twisted, they aren’t curled up sleeping, this is still angry music with a slight change in point of view that things can get better and you can find purpose in life.
