Photo by @afeltedmouse

The bio on Gnawing’s Bandcamp page sums them as “a loud rock and roll band that wishes they were a country band.” That much was true on their backwoods-rattling debut full-length, You Freak Me Out, but these times have worn their hands raw ever since, between “Gimme Tinnitus” and now, “Clean Up Your Act”. The latest from the Raleigh four-piece’s forthcoming sophomore effort, Modern Survival Techniques, is lop-sided on the first part of that descriptor, and perhaps states its case for them to be considered the next great classic revival rock band if we are now defining the classics as anything from the era of ‘90s noise rock and pillaging the Aughts garage. And that’s not a slant against them. Rock music has lost its luster in safety nets and paring down decibels, so when frontman John Russell wails out a declaration to get your shit together or risk losing everything and everyone, the warning hits hard.

Gnawing’s Modern Survival Techniques will be released May 19th on Refresh Records.