New York City post-hardcore legends Quicksand reveal new single 'Crystallize'
Photo Credit: Annette Rodriguez
Legendary post-hardcore band Quicksand have today revealed their new single 'Crystallize', the latest single from their forthcoming new album Bring On The Psychics (Equal Vision Records / Rude Records).
"’Crystallize’ opens a new lane for us,” the band says of the new single. “Post-punk self-actualization-core meets 1960s Batman fight scene.”
Watch 'Crystallize' here: https://youtu.be/iu3xqskepyg
Stream 'Crystallize' here: https://quicksand.lnk.to/crystallize
Pre-order Bring On The Psychics here: https://quicksand.lnk.to/BringOnThePsychics
Marking an entirely new era for the storied three-piece — guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels, bassist Sergio Vega and drummer Alan Cage — Bring On The Psychics serves as the sonic bridge between the band’s heavy and influential Nineties sound and the ambitious, experimental output contained within its more recent era. Produced and mixed by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain) across 10 days, Bring On The Psychics once again finds Quicksand reinventing the sound they helped pioneer.
It’s impossible to overstate the influence that Quicksand have on the hardcore scene. Formed in New York City in 1990 out of the ashes of Gorilla Biscuits, Youth of Today, Burn and Bold, the band took the aggression of hardcore and added a more groove-driven crunch to it, unintentionally inventing the genre known today as post-hardcore. After releasing two major-label masterpieces in the Nineties — 1993’s Slip and 1995’s Manic Compression — the band split up at the peak of their powers, only to reunite in 2012 and release Interiors and Distant Populations.
Inspired by a quote from scientist Carl Sagan, Bring On The Psychics, Quicksand’s first album in five years, sees guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels examining his past through his present reality. “For this album, I was going back to a lot of my earlier influences about ‘break down the walls’ or ‘start today,’” he explains. “Regardless of whether you're into hardcore or youth crew, they're really cool records because they're speaking to the time and providing possible paths to a better future … with mosh parts. That’s the energy that I wanted to bring to this.”
From the hook-driven heaviness of the opener 'Get To It' to the shoegaze splendour of 'Crystallize', the band cover a lot of sonic ground on Bring On The Psychics, but it always sounds like Quicksand. Its technical virtuosity is on full display here as well, from bassist Sergio Vega’s locked-in bass grooves on 'Cool Guy' to Alan Cage’s dynamic drumming on the album’s title track. The band also stretched out, musically, on the album as evidenced by the breezy ballad 'Days You Run To', a song that might even surprise longtime fans. “To me, that is the kind of thing that Fugazi would do on their more chill kind of tunes,” Schreifels says of the laidback feel of the aforementioned track. “It's nice to have something that was more expansive to show the Pink Floyd side of Quicksand.”
That aspect of the band has never been a secret; anyone who has seen the band’s psychedelic light show can attest to that consciousness-expanding vibe. Bring On The Psychics just sees the band encapsulating their creative vision in a fully, more integrated manner.
“I'm really psyched to play these songs live,” Schreifels summarises. “I feel really fortunate to still be playing music with these guys and be able to take it to different places.”
Quicksand are:
Walter Schreifels (guitar/vocals)
Sergio Vega (bass)
Alan Cage (drums)
Quicksand online:
Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | Shop
Tracklist:
1. Get To It
2. Regenerate
3. Agency
4. Crystallize
5. Supercollider
6. In Full Color
7. Days You Run To
8. Cool Guy
9. Moving Forward
10. Bring On The Psychics