Hardcore
SOUL GLO – Diaspora Problems
After three of the most essential hardcore albums of the last decade, Philly’s SOUL GLO brought us their latest full-length Diaspora Problems on March 25th via Epitaph Records and may I say: good for Epitaph for championing a challenging underground band and congrats to SOUL GLO on their inevitable new exposure. It can be difficult […]
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After three of the most essential hardcore albums of the last decade, Philly’s SOUL GLO brought us their latest full-length Diaspora Problems on March 25th via Epitaph Records and may I say: good for Epitaph for championing a challenging underground band and congrats to SOUL GLO on their inevitable new exposure.
It can be difficult to describe SOUL GLO’s sound to someone who has never heard them, because they do cover an awful lot of ground. Comparisons to Bad Brains could be brushed off as simply focusing on African American membership but the sheer frenetic speed and urgency, coupled with Pierce Jordan’s strained vocals, really does instantly recall their sound.
Diaspora Problems sees SOUL GLO expand on elements of their sound they’ve been honing for years, from the noise drenched trap hip-hop of “Driponomics” (feat. Mother Maryrose), which could earn comparisons with Ho99o9, to the synthy intro and mathy breakdown in “(Five Years And) My Family”, more reminiscent of modern metalcore bands. Plus the additions of some horns tastefully peppered throughout and some spoken word sections, help the album from ever feeling stale.
Although they manage to seamlessly blend a whole host of elements while maintaining a thread of stripped back scrappy hardcore throughout, one of the most impressive thing about the songs on Diaspora Problems is the hooks. From the “Who gon’ beat my ass?” refrain on opener “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?)” to the epic shout-a-long, call to arms, album closer “Spiritual Level Of Gang Shit”. Making an album this extreme and this catchy is surely what will set SOUL GLO apart from their peers. For this reason, one of the main comparison points I kept coming back to was Turnstile’s Glow On, whereas they introduced many more accessible elements to their hardcore bones to potentially open more people’s minds to the genre, SOUL GLO keep us guessing where they will go next, but in contrast, rarely lose their razor sharp edge.
SOUL GLO are a band of vital importance in 2022 and Diaspora Problems might be their most accomplished work yet. Is this the hardcore album of the year? It’s too early to say for sure, but it very probably is.
Source: diyconspiracy.net
