In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing.
Drug Church’s Patrick Kindlon has no problem calling things as he sees them, a trait that comes through via the social media presence he’s established with his other band, Self Defense Family. At the onset of Drug Church, the band recalled late-’90s midtempo hardcore, but it wasn’t until it fully embraced its absurdist tendencies—through its artwork, T-shirt designs, and naming its album Paul Walker—that it separated itself from similar-sounding acts.
Though the song titles on Paul Walker are surprisingly mundane (“Reading YouTube Comments,” “Attending A Cousin’s Birthday Party,” “Riding The Bus To Schenectady”) it’s Kindlon’s succinct ability to show the grimier side of life, coupled with the band’s focused energy, that allows Drug Church to hit its stride. On “Shopping For A Belt” the band truly finds itself, as guitarists Nick Cogan and Cory Galuscha create a driving, chugging foundation atop which Kindlon paints a picture of a family member relapsing into addiction and stealing from the song’s protagonist; distraught, he finds solace in the music of Hatebreed. As ridiculous as it sounds, there are few hardcore bands that approach the genre with such a defined perspective; one that both pokes fun and pays unabashed homage to its predecessors.