Ever wonder what would have happened if you had taken away the progressive element of Fugazi, lessen their experimental feel and intentional departure from raw punk vibes, but blended in more emotive post hardcore sound? Well, wonder no more. “Iris’s Room”, the newest EP from Carlisle, Massachusetts based quartet WELLSPRING is a fine simulation of just such a scenario. Reflecting their love of 90’s post-hardcore and the Massachusetts indie rock scene, the record reflects struggles with identity/queerness and the prevalence of predatory people in local scenes, and delivers a perfect treat for fans of acts like Quicksand, Minutemen, and Far. Check it out below, read up the official word from the band and stay tuned as they will be coming back from a little break this spring/summer with plans to play shows around the northeastern US and Canada.
“iris’s room” was written this past summer, with many of the songs taking shape and developing during our northeast tour in July. During this time, we also added a second guitarist, Willow, to our lineup. This allowed us to flesh out our songs in ways that we hadn’t been able to before, and their guitar work is now essential to our sound. After an initial attempt at recording that didn’t fully materialize, we started from scratch with our good friend Cam Pulaski (Ice Cream Orphan, Two Headed Girl) this winter. They’ve been a friend of the band for a while now, and they recorded, mixed, and mastered this EP in their home studio in North Andover, MA.
While stylistically, this EP is all over the place, it feels like a natural progression for us. We started this band as almost a joke in high school, but we gradually grew to take it more seriously and this record reflects that. We all have very different influences, but for this particular release we drew a lot from 80’s and 90’s post-hardcore. Bands like Fugazi, Rites of Spring, Quicksand, and Minutemen appeared the most in our playlists during the writing of this EP.
Lyrically, “iris’s room” is centered around the prevalence of predatory people in music scenes. Over the past few years I (Hugh) have become increasingly frustrated with people who turn a blind eye to a person’s behavior when it can benefit them, and then pretend to be vanguards of social justice when that person finally gets called out. Our song “falador masochist” in particular is a sort of parody of the shallowness and lyrical tropes that litter scenes where I’ve seen this behavior the most.
“Iris’s Room” was recorded by Cam Pulaski (Ice Cream Orphan, Two Headed Girl, Boy Blunder) and marks their third EP so far. Some artists WELLSRPING have played shows with include Dump Him, deathdealer., Foxtails, Dæphne, Death Defier, and Banana. WELLSPRING are: Hugh Schmidt (vocals, bass); James Putnam (guitar); Owen Schmidt (drums); Willow Robichaud (guitar).
