Preoccupations // New Material

Preoccupations

New Material

Jagjaguwar Records

3.5/5 Stars

Preoccupations, the Calgary-based post-punk band formerly known as Viet Cong, are now three full-lengths into their career. With each album, they have further cemented their sonic vision, and New Material is no different; it's filled with drums that sounds like overturned trash cans, guitars sharp enough to rip holes in your speakers and the kind of vampiric vocals that would make Ian Curtis blush. They are, for all intents and purposes, the premiere post-punk band in 2018. And New Material is an album for fans of the genre, plain and simple. At only 36 minutes spread across eight tracks, it can be a bit frustrating to hear the band not push themselves toward any new ground. The things that work here, however, work well; opening track and single "Espionage" inserts unforgettably playful synth work over it's dance-driven rhythm section, while closing track "Compliance" simmers with a building, grainy ambiance that is liable to blow your headphones out. But these are the highlights, and with a little more time and experimentation before LP4, Preoccupations may return with their magnum opus someday soon.
— Aaron Mook