Street Sects, the Austin-based duo of multi-instrumentalist Shaun Ringsmuth and vocalist Leo Ashline, followed up their ferocious 2016 debut End Position with the 2017 EP Rat Jacket. Rather than doubling down on sheer abrasion, the band took a slightly different direction, bringing sounds that feel just as punishing, but more deliberate and layered.
Composed of four songs, Rat Jacket wastes no time in delivering its impact. The EP is a concentrated dose of desperate, unflinching industrial punk that gives an impression of something world-weary and feral, pulsing with jittery urgency.
What makes it stand out is the adept mix of harsh, grinding electronics with moments of unexpected melody. It's a kind of tension in which Street Sects thrive, and it’s a thread they’ve continued to pull at in their later work. Ashline’s almost literary lyricism and moving vocal performance crash into Ringsmuth’s jagged and visceral sounds, creating a brutal and weirdly beautiful experience.
Inevitably, the record drew comparisons to End Position, since that album had just begun earning wider appreciation for the band. Yet where End Position felt heated and unrestrained, Rat Jacket carries a more meticulous weight, being more melodic, sadder, but no less intense. Taken together, the two releases complement each other well. One is a breaking point, the other a damaged aftermath.
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Street Sects
The Flenser
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