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Philadelphia’s DESPERATE LIVING release excellent 2020 EP “City Sadness” on vinyl

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Desperate Living

Desperate Living’s City Sadness is finally making its way to vinyl. Originally released digitally in 2020 via Brutal Panda Records (Local H, Whores, Kowloon Walled City), the Philadelphia punk outfit’s second release has been remastered by Carl Saff (Big Business, Fu Manchu, Braid) for its first physical pressing, coming out via Noise Real Records.

“This EP was originally released in the middle of the pandemic, at the height of public distress when the streets were alive with protest.” – says vocalist and guitarist Brian Medlin.

“It felt so right to me to put a raw, pissed off noise out into the air. With its re-release now, it seems just as appropriate. I hope that anyone who tunes in can find their own form of catharsis in it, whether it’s to drown it all out or to burn it all down.”

The EP moves with the sharp, wiry tension of DC post-hardcore—angular guitars, restless rhythms—but there’s an undercurrent of something murkier, something pulling it further from straight revivalism.

Recorded and mixed by Mark Watter at Headroom Studios in Philly, the five tracks play like a controlled collapse, the sound of a band pushing against structure while holding onto just enough shape to keep things from fully breaking apart.

The lineup is tight: Brian Medlin on vocals and guitar, Timothy Leo on guitar and backup vocals, Scott Signorina handling bass, and Jonathan Van Dine on drums and percussion.

Desperate Living

The artwork and layout come from Jake Van Der Linde (Horseapples), rounding out the release with visuals that match the band’s off-kilter energy.

With its first physical release, City Sadness gets a second life—one that feels like it was always meant to exist beyond the digital space. Preorders start February 4, 2025, via Desperate Living’s Bandcamp.

>> Check out our End Of The Year 2022 feature with Desperate Living HERE.

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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