Photo by Braedon Long 

Yes, these pages are well aware that it’s taken many months to acknowledge the latest Lifeguard single. It came out in the middle of the summer during a very busy release period (then again, what time of the year isn’t overwhelming us with new music nowadays?) At any rate, as far as officiality goes, the single’s physical release date on 7″ had it arriving in listeners’ hands today, so the timing here is intentional. Like their Hallogallo zine scene peers in Horsegirl and Friko, the young Chicago trio are one of the more exciting sounds making new noise from the rock underground thanks to creative risk-taking and a hunger to build community through it. If last year’s extended play, Dressed In Trenches, heard bassist and vocalist Asher Case, guitarist and vocalist Kai Slater, and drummer Isaac Lowenstein throwing more fire onto their post-punk pile-on, then “Ministry /Energie” hears them turning it into a calculated controlled burn. Complimentary to their intensifying friction is No Age’s Randy Randall who produces the track and ensures the heat stays right at its surface. It’s wild to think we haven’t even gotten a debut full-length from them yet, but there’s enough fuel here to hold us over another year if we have to.

Lifeguard’s “Ministry / Energy” 7″ single is available now on Matador Records.