Photo by Manuel Barajas

Like their peers in Militarie Gun, Drug Church have only gotten bigger as their sound has gotten bolder in shape. Good on its leader, Patrick Kindlon, who has found a stable middle ground between his penchant for philosophical shitposting and writing music for hardcore pits larger than those he expressed them through with his more complexly designed yet less commercially viable band, Self Defense Family. This is not to say that Drug Church has dumbed down his brain by any means, even if burlier, chonkier alternative rock riffs with the occasional delicate acoustic filigree props up the band’s aggro post-hardcore rager theatrics. That remains true on “Demolition Man”, the lead single from the band’s forthcoming third studio effort, PRUDE. It’s Drug Church set to “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in a more existential sense, with Kindlon mulling humankind’s directionless purpose in the face of their faithful canine companion’s seemingly happier nature getting up each day and knowing what to do. “Terriers live to kill rats / Retrievers carry birds through reeds / But there’s no reason for you to leave bed / No hardwired north, just a compass left spinning in your head,” his tar-stained shouts sticks like an anthem for the nihilistic. It sounds much more prettier than it should be for a song bent on self-destruction, at that.

Directed by: Alex Backes

Drug Church’s PRUDE will be released October 4th on Pure Noise Records.