New York City post-hardcore icons Quicksand channel Minor Threat and Negative Approach on OG diss track 'Cool Guy'

Photo Credit: Annette Rodriguez

Legendary post-hardcore band Quicksand are pleased to present 'Cool Guy,' the latest single to be lifted from the Friday, 17th July release of Bring On The Psychics (Equal Vision Records / Rude Records), the first album in five years from the iconic NYC post-hardcore trio.

Watch 'Cool Guy' here: https://youtu.be/rZ_01dIbqC4
Stream 'Cool Guy' here: http://quicksand.lnk.to/coolguy

Pre-order Bring On The Psychics here: https://quicksand.lnk.to/BringOnThePsychics

"’Cool Guy’ is like an OG HC diss track, like ‘Small Man, Big Mouth’ by Minor Threat or ‘Hypocrite’ by Negative Approach,” the band said. “Sometimes you just gotta get those negative emotions out." 

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. 

Quicksand will be making the following appearances this summer, including Outbreak Festival. Dates below with more to be added soon. 

JUNE
18 — Hamburg, DE — Knust
18 — 21 - Dessel, BE — Graspop Metal Meeting
20 — Köln, DE — Luxor
22 — Wiesbaden, DE — Schlachthof Wiesbaden
23 — Berlin, DE — Hole44
25 — Ysselsteyn, NL — Jera On Air
27-28 —Stretford, UK — Outbreak Festival

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