Predator: Spiral Unfolds 12"

Predator: Spiral Unfolds 12"


Tags: · 20s · Atlanta · hcpmf · post-punk
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$17.00
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Total Punk is keeping things in Atlanta, following up GG KING's- 'Remain Intact' with PREDATOR's new album 'Spiral Unfolds.' The two bands share members including Ryan Bell who masterfully recorded both albums. Atlanta has the the best punk scene going and Predator are one of its longest running practitioners. Despite the seven years since their last full length, and vocalist Brannon Greene splitting time between Predator and his other projects, Hospice and Nag (both of which just dropped new albums), 'Spiral Unfolds' shows the band still rules the void. The wiry punk minimalism of their previous outings still intact but complemented with a bit more muscle courtesy of the interplay between the two buzzsaw guitars. Brannon's android tinged vocals occasionally giving off a Tubeway Army gone hardcore vibe. 'Spiral Unfolds' is Predator at it's peak. Hypnotic, driving, and 100% TOTAL PUNK.

Our take: Mere months after issuing the incredible new GG King album (note: back in stock at Sorry State if you missed out the first time), Total Punk Records returns to Atlanta’s punk scene for the latest album from the long-running band Predator. Predator’s first 7” came out in 2009 and their first LP all the way back in 2011; they’ve been at this for a while, and Spiral Unfolds feels like the culmination of everything they’ve done up to this point. If you asked me to describe Atlanta’s garage-punk scene I would almost certainly mention that the bands have a power-pop edge to their sound. This is true of well-known bands like the Carbonas, GG King, Gentlemen Jesse, and Beat Beat Beat (all of whom, if I’m not mistaken, have shared members with Predator), but despite not having that classic power-pop element to their sound (at least in this current iteration), Predator is instantly identifiable as an Atlanta band. Their angular rhythms, thick guitar sound, catchy riffs, and sung vocals (albeit in a robotic monotone) remind me of Atlanta bands like Wymyn’s Prysyn and Uniform, but Predator is just Predator. In a lot of ways they’re like the ultimate Atlanta garage-punk band, jettisoning the easy to like aspects of those bigger bands and leaning into the idiosyncrasies. Spiral Unfolds… fuck, man. Just like GG King’s last LP, Remain Intact, this latest record sounds like the band is throwing off any reservations or limitations and attempting to make the record of their fucking lives. And they nail it. This is a great punk album, likely one of the best of the year, and essential if you follow whatever you call this strain of nervy, catchy punk.