‘I write down my thoughts and throw the page away, No use in keeping it, I wrote the same thoughts down yesterday…I see no change, because I won’t change’ (Little Man)

Malaise is the debut album from Class Act and they hail from Kansas City.  By way of context, that is about all I can tell you.  But who needs a backstory when you’ve got tunes as fine as these?  There has long been a school of thought that hardcore that emanates in the Midwest, away from the historic punk epicentres, evolves in intriguingly distinctive ways – a theory that Class Act are more than happy to sustain.

Their sound is one that fuses the energies of stomping hardcore with abrasive noise punk dissonance and a dash of garage velocity, before saturating everything in their own wildly off-kilter aesthetic.  Not to mention some splendidly offbeat instrumental interludes.  It works an absolute treat.  The rhythm section lays down an ever-shifting battery, utterly frenetic at times, unashamedly rugged at others. The semi-shouted vocals unleash a haranguing tirade, one part nihilistic polemic questioning the potential for change, the other a self-disgusted diatribe at our own lethargic failure to even try.

This is all bound together by the tautly stretched, discordant guitar – somehow clean and filthy at the same time.  And be assured, there are riffs aplenty – twisting, writhing, and bludgeoning as appropriate.  The highlights slam home in quick succession.  The juddering angularity of Peachy.  The brooding indolence of Big Man.  The agitated unfurling of Temple Run.  The pounding fury of World Peace.  Who knew our malaise could sound so good?