Less Life will be the debut album by Brooklyn post hardcore quartet, Died, and the follow up to the band's latest EP, Anonymized Internal Criminals from 2018. This time Died enlisted the tried skills of super producer Steve Frisk (Nirvana, Soundgarden, Unwound, Low, Beat Happening and tons more) who handles the album's production, and fans the flames of the band's dynamic mixture made from hardcore, noise rock and punk sounds.
New single, Oja de Macao, is a grungy post hardcore piece that hits hard, striking like something which takes the next step from the spunk of Fugazi, Mudhoney and the early Refused. Compactly structured and fervently executed, it's a forewarning of the further aggression expected to be unleashed with the rest of the coming album.
"Writing Oja de Macao was our attempt at crushing the frustration, anger, and depression that defined our lives during the era of our previous EP, Anonymized Internal Criminals," the band state about the new single. "In a mix of post-hardcore and power-pop, we took a more melodic approach to our songwriting, a significant contrast to our previous sound. I guess we thought making less soul-crushing music would in turn make us less unhappy people. The lyrics tell the story of an unhinged romantic trapped in their own head— the (untranslatable) song title itself is as puzzling as the failed relationship that actually led to this song’s creation. So while this song certainly has an energy to it we had never unlocked before, the dismal lyrics and intricate guitar work are still undeniably Died, with the same complexities and same frustrated attitude."
Less Life comes out in its entirety May 29th, 2020.
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