Seattle trio CITY OF INDUSTRY made its first indelible mark with False Flowers, released in 2020. On November 11th, the fierce and innovative trio will unveil their new album, Spiritual West, on No Funeral Records and Modern Grievance. Today, we’re thrilled to give you the newest teaser of the full thing, their excellent new track “Everybody’s Cross These Days, Darling”!
The new offering cranks up the intensity further, but not through a simple method of scaling up sonic aggression. Intriguing and exhausting in equal measure, it advertises a record that defies categorisation, an unrelenting, chaotic, yet eclectic work driven forward by ambitious instrumentation. It might not be revolutionary, but it shows the band’s extraordinary craft in the niche of out-of-the-box bleak hardcore.
“Everybody’s Cross These Days, Darling” is a phrase I came across while on a 1950’s movie binge many months ago.” – comments City of Industry’s John Caraveo.
“I can’t remember what movie I heard it from, but it stood out to me and jotted it down immediately. Now, seemingly more than ever, everyone is cross about something, and a lot of the time, rightfully so, but I see a recurring theme today in the West where it almost seems as more of a sickness of anger and lack of compassion than something that can be healed politically or sociologically.”
“Spiritual West is, musically and lyrically, the most honest, raw, and poignant piece of work I’ve ever done,” Caraveo states. “In the past two years I’ve experienced the death of some people very close to me. I am facing the fact that every single relationship we have will undoubtedly come to an end, in one way or another. I am facing my own imminent death. I am realizing how small and insignificant I am, and every other person who has lived or will live.”
Caraveo says these existential reckonings are guiding him toward a more liberated state where he is unconcerned with people’s judgments: “I don’t want to fit in or seek the ‘scene’s’ approval in any way. I want to be myself, all the time, one hundred percent. Unapologetic aggression. Knowing I can be myself and be honest and sleep well at night.”
On Spiritual West, Caraveo’s impassioned vocals hit like the confessions of a man who has reached his breaking point; the band’s moody, metallic, hardcore punk drives forward, laced with morose melodies, drenched in Pacific Northwest rain.
The sheer urgency sets this band apart from the mob. There are not many comparisons to be drawn; Converge or Show Me The Body might be two.
As raw and real as City of Industry can be, there is another side to the band. Throughout Spiritual West, the trio’s musical experimentation creates moments of grandeur that elevate the album to an even higher place. Triumphant church bells, gleeful glockenspiel, ominous synths, and sampled voices add color and contrast that make the songs penetrate that much deeper and show, once again, that Caraveo and his comrades – bassist Jack Thompson and drummer Pablo Lara – are following no one else’s rules.
Spiritual West was recorded by Nich Wilbur (Mt. Eerie, Sumac) and mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Gouge Away).
City of Industry is: Guitar/Vox: John, Bass: Jack, Drums/Percussion: Pablo
