Moderating a WordPress website can present certain challenges. You’ve always got to back things up, conform with patches, update themes… and so little of it seems to have effect, other than consistency. Also, there’s probably a plugin to help with this, but a lot of the comments just never reach us – and recently, an omission verging on the criminal occurred.
Literally, Drill for Absentee had casually slipped it to us in our comment section that they would soon be dropping new material. As far as we know, it’s been a pretty long time since anyone had heard anything from Michael Nace and company since 1999’s Circle Music. Not that we know much.
If you, like us, hadn’t revisited the group’s incredible self-titled EP in several odd years, now would be the time to do so. The band’s sound is somewhere between Slint and Quicksand, but with a harrowing sense of narration all it’s own, and just as Nace told us in the comments, new material seems just over the horizon. Take a listen to the preview they published on their bandcamp last month.
It’s a pretty glorious 30 seconds. In fact, it honestly sounds like it’s some of the most exciting material the band’s ever released. Drill for Absentee is as post-apocalyptic as they are post-punk, just the way we like it. Darkly emotive loops and spoken word define a decent portion of the band’s small yet formidable discography, but it’s hard to pin them to a particular genre. If you’re a fan of the darker moments of Black Country, New Road, or the shadier moments of shame, you’re going to love what you hear, especially if you’re just now picking them up for the first time.
You’re also going to possibly struggle with the fact that most of it came out over 20 years ago.
Or how we managed to miss that comment.
Keep your eyes peeled for more Drill for Absentee this Spring. We’ll do our best to let you know. Coming up, we’ve got articles with Fox Lake, Catbamboo, False Pockets, and what to expect from Boise’s Treefort Music Fest, one of the largest music festivals you’ll ever set eyes on. Or foot in. As well as some other stuff we can’t wait to announce. As always, if you’d like to help us keep out site up to date and/or buy us a coffee, you can do it here. We appreciate it. Talk soon!