Photo by Sam Levin

The Baltimore hardcore crew Tripper made a promising first impact with their 2023 debut EP, People Die Every Day. It was one of the year’s best. Since then, they lost their original vocalist but got a new one in Nic Ledford, and quickly put their human rage to full use with another absolutely feral extended play on last year’s, Faceless. Judging by the sounds of the four-piece’s new standalone single, “Puppet”, they’ve only been in need of even more space to let the seething internal energy eating them up on the inside to breathe out. Hung up on a thread and held captive by their head, Ledford is on a brink-of-a -breakdown, which only makes the manic breakdowns being pressured cooked by guitarist Bryan Moon, bassist Austin Reed, and drummer Michael Habif hit the wall heavier. “I’m not what I used to be / But God, I need to live / But God, I need to fucking live.” The dissociation may be peak, but everything you hear is raw to the touch.

Tripper’s “Puppet” single is available now.