When we first got an email from Three One G about Stress Positions in late 2023, before even hearing the band, we figured they’d be pretty good. Being that the label is known for its impeccable curation of the grimiest, sludgiest veins of punk it can find, what were we going to do – question it?
No. But then we checked out the private stream – by the time Harsh Reality had washed over us, we had to make sure our faces were still intact. You know that scene in School of Rock where Jack Black asks the kids if his face is still there because one of them ripped a face-melting guitar solo? It was kind of like that.
Fast forward to 2025, and we are getting the same exact treatment, with an extra dose of hostile urgency – it feels much needed. The new Stress Positions EP, Human Zoo, is out in just under a month, and once again after streaming the advance we are left fumbling blindly for the reality we knew moments before.
To guide us, we’re quite lucky to have drummer Jonathan Giralt and guitarist Benjamin Rudolph from the band help explain some of the exhibit’s finer points, from mixing the album and balancing it’s message with it’s intensity to ways to get involved with your community and the global effects of the Palestinian genocide. Big thanks to Three One G and Justin Pearson for setting this up, and thanks again to Ben and Jonathan for shedding a little light on Human Zoo.
FB: 2023’s Harsh Reality was an endlessly explosive album, but it seems you’ve gone twice as hard on Human Zoo – was raising the dynamic and sense of urgency a conscious goal for the writing process, or did it just happen naturally?
J – Absolutely. I don’t think any of us want to (regress) musically. Not to mention the whole world has only become an increasingly more insane place to be so I think that shows through in our urgency and energy.
B – I definitely think we are always trying to push ourselves. Everything felt like a natural evolution for this EP. We recorded our first two records at the same time in 2021 and hadn’t played many shows before recording. At this point we’ve toured a lot and just become a tighter unit which may have helped the increase in intensity.
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FB: The production credits have a couple familiar faces considering you guys worked with Matt Russell and James Plotkin on the last one as well. What were some of the differences in terms of recording the who records?
J – Biggest difference was wanting to hear some different sounds. Matty is an awesome engineer and has a good ear, especially for heavy.
B – Matty is a good friend – we really liked his mixing on Harsh Reality and we’ve recorded with him with a previous band. James Plotkin is a legend. His catalog is extremely wide and varied and he does excellent work.
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FB: Was there a track that was particularly difficult to record? Or if not, was there a song or moment that was working well in rehearsals but didn’t translate to the studio right away?
J – Definitely. “Nakba.” I kept wanting to play it twice as fast. I think given the heavy nature it felt urgent but bringing the tempo to where it landed was ultimately the best. “The Nakba” deserves everyone’s attention. It felt appropriate that the song reflect that.
FB: In the bandcamp bio there’s mention of American hardcore influence – are there any bands, scenes, or musicians in particular that inspire Stress Positions?
J – There’s a lot for sure. I think all of our brains are a little perma-cooked from growing up in Florida. There’s definitely a lot of that; chaotic stop and go, call and response, playing the fast parts fast and slow parts slow, the type of shit that so many Florida bands had when we lived there. As far as bands, all the homies bands in Nashville, Philly, and here at home. Thirdface, Soul Glo, Eye Flys, Commitment…”
FB: It’s not out for a month, but when we heard the advance of Human Zoo, it felt like everything continued to escalate up to the point of destruction, and a portrait of genocide paradoxically settles things back down to zero in a chilling, profound, and strangely beautiful way. Was that song always going to be the last one? Did you already know the sequencing and order of the record going into it?
B – It’s interesting that you hear it as a “last song,” I can definitely see why and think that’s cool!
This record, being an EP released on a 12”, we knew we wanted the b side to be an exercise in doing something different/collaboration. We already knew we wanted to do the remixes but felt like that side of the record could have something that sort of tied everything together. I’ve always been interested in creating audio collages and this was my first attempt at it.
I also felt that it would be important to highlight key voices of Palestinian activists and others in the movement. There’s a lot of layers in there. There are clips from Ghassan Kanafani, Diana Buttu and Edward Said one clip is from a protester at the University of Chicago. I couldn’t ever find his name, but the speech he gave to the media that day was really powerful. There is a group of Palestinian women singing a “Mawaal” , a traditional poem/song about the connection to the land and its harvests/food. The title is derived from a clip that was used of someone singing the “Kaddish”, the jewish prayer for the dead. It is sung in the Sephardic tradition that I grew up with, hence giving a lot of weight to it all for me. I’m really stoked on how it turned out and hope that its gravity is felt by listeners.
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FB: Being that the band has stood for tenants like anti-colonialism and anti-capitalism since day one, do you have any tips for people who want to inform themselves on the topics but don’t necessarily know where to start or who to trust?
J – Talk to your community. Ask questions. Do your research and check the sources. There’s often literature or zines at shows… Lots of well informed and well written work. It’s a really good place to start and expand from.
B – Anywhere that directly affects you will be the easiest to access. A few of us did Food Not Bombs for a long time – these days most large cities have at least one chapter and they’re usually fairly easy to find. It’s a great way to find and help within your community directly. Mutual aid and direct action will always be the best ways to effectively become involved in larger things. The powers that be will always make it seem like these things are unattainable, and they aren’t. We cannot let it.
FB: Stress Positions is high-dynamic and extreme 95% of the time, if not more, so we were wondering – does anyone in the band have any surprisingly mellow or meditative hobbies to help balance things out?
J – Russell is a beautiful violinist. He can someone play a bit of everything but he really crushes violin”
FB: Were you nervous at all to hand over your stems for remixing, or were you just confident they were in good hands?
J – Confident. Curious for sure, but not worried at all. There’s a reason we reach out to who we did. Freak recognize freak.
FB: How ready are you to leave the country for a little bit and play some shows in the UK?
J – Holy fuck you have no idea. We’re super excited for all of these shows. It seemed like everyone had all their plates full leading up to this. There’s also seemingly been a lot of extra prep for this tour, so I think we’re all ready to be done with the email part and get on with the playing and sweating part.”
B – I’m answering these questions a few hours after landing in London, and needless to say I’m fuckin pumped. Ready to get over the jet lag and get at it. Echoing what Jono said about being done with the emails. LFG.
Don’t forget to pre-order the vinyl via Deathwish / Three One G here, officially out May 16th.
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