It’s been no secret from these last couple of years that the Chicago DIY scene is giving us some of the more exhilarating rock sounds on the rise in recent memory. Whereas their Gen-Z contemporaries in Horsegirl and Lifeguard profess themselves to be well-learned students of Gen-X indie, Cruel are a made differently. The four-piece of vocalist and guitarist Michael Schrieber, guitarist Jack Kelsey, bassist Jen Ashley, and drummer Brent Favata skip ahead a few years to burn up the remnants of the Aughts garage with an unbridled path of their own “Gutter” on the early highlight off their debut EP, Common Rituals. Think of the dirty tatters of the Walkmen more so than the tidy fringes of the Strokes coming through its hissed up scourge and bash of instruments, as this band isn’t coming from money and they’re fuckin’ tired of putting up with the grind. “Forty hours a week I lose myself on my knees / Forty times a night I tell myself I’ll get more sleep,” Schreiber sings. “Every single time you speak, I plug my ears and hope they don’t bleed / Maybe someday we’ll find a way to make it out and get on our two feet.” His calm and clean vocals during its chorus might be the only thing stopping this thing from going fully combustible. No matter his efforts, though, time’s running out and there’s no more chances left. Best to just watch it burn…

Cruel’s Common Rituals will be released October 31st on Angel Tapes.