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In conjunction with Institute’s first-ever Australian tour, Anti Fade Records presents a new three-song EP by these long-running and much-loved Texas punks. “The Shooter” instantly secures its spot on the list of Institute’s very best songs, carrying forward the melodic anarcho-punk influences (see: Zounds and Crisis) the band has explored since their infancy, but transforming them by leveraging the members’ accumulated decades of experience making potent, punk-informed music. The song’s lyrics are as straightforward and confrontational as any first-wave anarcho classic, but they attack a topic of the utmost relevance to the United States in 2026: the fiction of the “good guy with a gun.” Musically, “The Shooter” is an exquisitely layered fabric of jagged rhythms and plaintive melody, propelled into the aesthetic stratosphere when a chiming acoustic guitar breaks into the mix. The EP’s other two songs explore the remote poles of Institute’s intensity levels, with “A Privilege” edging toward hardcore—its jittery rhythm built around a short but infectious loop of lead guitar—while “Why Are These Men Still Alive” stretches out, its lumbering rhythm recalling longer story-songs like the Velvet Underground’s “The Gift,” while the eastern-tinged fuzz guitar echoes the moment when Indian raga collided with psychedelic pop in the mid-1960s. Though this EP only offers three tracks, it’s as essential as anything Institute has released thus far; if you’re lucky enough to be down under for the gigs, I’m sure it’ll make a great souvenir, but it’s still an essential grip for punks worldwide. - Daniel Lupton
Insitute’s new self-titled 7” is out February 20th via Anti Fade Records, ahead of their Australian tour commencing March 18th.
Our take: I wrote the official label blurb for this release, and while I hate writing about the same record twice, I wanted to send up the bat signal and make sure the Sorry State faithful know the new Institute is straight fire and should not be missed. If you missed their recent 12” Ragdoll Dance on Roachleg Records, you might not know that Institute sounds wholly revitalized at the moment. Not that they ever sounded less than vital, but nowadays they sound almost like a new band—hungry, like they’ve got something to prove. And if the three tracks that appear on this 7”—each of which has its own vibe, groove, instrumental palette, and structure (see my official blurb for more details on that)—are any sign, the band is still chock full of fresh and exciting ideas. And while the music here is brilliant, the lyrics are just as noteworthy. I’ve seen a lot of hand-wringing lately about whether and how punk will meet the current political moment, and I can think of few bands writing about the current political climate as compellingly as Institute. Rather than cosplay songs about long-dead politicians or retreads of the same topics Discharge made it safe to write about four decades ago, on these three tracks, Institute writes about things happening right now, and they write about them in a way that’s as direct, confrontational, and powerful as the 80s political punk bands that inspire them. For me, this 7” has it all. I’m not sure how long it’ll stick around since it’s billed as an Australian tour EP, but if you’re one of us who believe contemporary punk can rise to the level of the genre’s classics, you’re gonna want this record.