Photo by Annette Rodriguez

On first strum, you might mistake “Crystallize” as the opening riffs to that new Olivia Rodrigo song. Once those distortion pedals kick in with a healthy douse of post-hardcore crunching over its veneer, it could only be the rumblings of Quicksand and the latest offering from the seminal scene band’s forthcoming fifth studio album (and first for Equal Vision Records), Bring On The Psychics. With so many bands — especially those from the hardcore-adjacent currents — attempting to copy the carbon which the NYC rockers have cut in its original form, it’s really no surprise that their regeneration makes it all sound so clear. Describing the listen as “post-punk self-actualization-core meets 1960s Batman fight scene,” the inspiration almost feels reciprocal, given frontman Walter Schriefels’ fandom of the psychological noise coming out of the dark of the Brooklyn underground by way of heavy-gazing post-punks Russian Baths and their art-rock counterparts Activity. At the very least, he, bassist Sergio Vega, and drummer Alan Cage have done the inner work to take Quicksand to the next level here.

Directed by: Jesse Korman

Quicksand’s Bring On The Psychics will be released July 17th on Equal Vision Records.