Interviews

“Darker & sadder” – an interview with d-beat punks WRISTS GROW COLD

4 mins read

WRISTS GROW COLD (ex SHIT LUCK) is a shadowy crust hardcore / d-beat pack from South Florida that once again proves the incredibly prolific nature of their local punk scene. Drawing from all kinds of influential guiding spirits like TRAGEDY, FROM ASHES RISE and FALL OF EFRAFA, WRISTS GROW COLD managed to paint an engaging story that has just enough mellow moments to make it really consistent, without getting too monotonous. Taste their debut offering and read my interview with the band below.

Catch them live on April 18th at The Handlebar in Pensacola with THE FLEX and RED DEATH (go here to see the full list of dates of that trek).

Hi guys! What’s up? How are you? For all the readers not familiar with the band, please drop us a little backstory of WRISTS GROW COLD and explain how the band links to SHIT LUCK, previously featured on IDIOTEQ.

Hello. WRISTS GROW COLD is a crust hardcore/punk band from south Florida. We used to go under the name SHIT LUCK but as soon as we figured out what we wanted to do with the band we changed our name to better fit the music we play. So it’s basically the same band.

Ok, so let’s shed some more light on your background. How would you describe your local area or how you grew up? What shaped your musical identity and inspired you to create art of your own?

Well we all live in the suburbs which is ideally pretty boring. Each of us live a 45 minute drive from each other but what we see and experience is all the same. Everyone either has a job or goes to school, or has some hobby that kind of eliminates suburban boredom to an extent. We all are on the same level when it comes to having hardcore/punk ethos and I think the way each of us grew up kind of reflects what we do with our band(s) and however we decide to express ourselves artistically, with this band in particular.

Music-wise, were you aiming for a certain sound or did it all happen organically? How did you end up being a crust/d-beat crew?

We started out as kind of a powerviolence band under the previous name and naturally we kept sounding I guess “darker” and sadder and I guess more melodic and metallic which kind of brought us to our new sound. So I guess you could say it was a natural progression and that it did kind of happen organically. It’s not something we were originally aiming for, but it’s something each of us feel really fits all of us sonically as a band today.

Crust and d-beat hardcore bands’ razor-sharp literary edge is what sets them apart from the rest of the hardcore scene. Would you agree? What are some of the most important to consider while writing a punk song for you guys?

I would definitely have to agree with you on that, a lot of crust and d-beat bands kind of focus on a lot of the more important issues in a somewhat straightforward way, and depending on what’s going on in the world at the time is usually the main focus. I believe these types of bands are a very important part of the punk scene, but I wouldn’t say there’s a more important band to consider while writing. For us, we take a completely different direction with writing. While bands of the past are definitely important and influential and are a big part of why we write the music we do, we try not to re-write history word for word as well as musically, and for us as a band I would say we’ve tried to create our own unique sound while staying within the same realm, as well as choosing a different role lyrically. It’s all super personal things that take influence from similar cruel experiences from an even more cruel society. I’ve come to a point in life where I cannot really speak for anyone else.

Are there any issues in particular that you feel strongly should be represented in your lyrics?

My lyrics mainly have to do with my own survival in a disgusting world that could be relatable…in many different ways. I think a lot of people have the same problems. It could be a struggle to die or a struggle to stay alive. To me there’s never just one issue and there never will be just one issue, whether impersonal or personal.

WRISTS GROW COLD

“Vanish Into Thin Air” is a perfect introduction to what we can expect to hear from you guys. Have you had any feedback on these tracks so far?

So far anything feedback on this release has been positive. I’m sure it hasn’t reached as many people as we’d want it to, but from everything we have heard and everyone who has heard Vanish Into Thin Air, it seems to have been received quite well.

Do you already have more songs written? Record-wise, what are you next steps? Also, what would you like WRISTS GROW COLD legacy to be? How would you describe the purpose and the goal of this band?

We haven’t really gotten together to write since we put Vanish Into Thin Air out and toured in January but we’ll be writing new stuff sometime this year. The next release will probably happen next year, we’re kind of taking it slow because we’re all in other bands and we don’t have much material to tour off of. Once we get to writing again and release more stuff we’d hope to start touring more often. Until then we’re just playing shows every once in a while. Our main purpose and goal with this band is to write the most morose and despondent music that we possibly can.

What bands are setting your players on fire this year?

Bands that I’m messing with a lot lately are mostly local bands, I’m really into a bunch of Florida bands right now. But generally this year for hardcore/punk and extreme music… The PDC demo, GLOSS demo and the SPINE LP.

Ok guys. Thanks for the quick update. Feel free to wrap it up and take care!

Thanks to anyone who has checked us out. We hope to get some new material out ASAP.
Upon checking us out, also check out these bands…

DAY BY DAY, MALICE AT THE PALACE (MATP), GUILTY CONSCIENCE, PUT IT ASIDE, HARDWIRED, BLISTERED, DON’T BOTHER ME, CONSTANT CYCLE, WRAPPED IN PALE, VATICAN MASSACRE, SILENT AUTHORITY, COLD RAIN AND SUICIDE PACT MUSIC.

Thank you for the interview!

WRISTS GROW COLD Facebook
WRISTS GROW COLD Bandcamp
[email protected]

WRISTS GROW COLD live date

Karol Kamiński

DIY rock music enthusiast and web-zine publisher from Warsaw, Poland. Supporting DIY ethics, local artists and promoting hardcore punk, rock, post rock and alternative music of all kinds via IDIOTEQ online channels.
Contact via [email protected]

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