Gel – “Predominant Mask”

The New Jersey band Gel make a furiously fun form of squalid, basement-ready hardcore punk. If you see Gel live, they’re absolute destroyers; they had one of my favorite sets at Richmond’s Big Takeover fest a couple of months ago. But Gel also get it done on record. They slather their sound in reverb, which gives them a weirdly mysterious sensibility, and they rock supremely hard.

At the end of last year, Gel followed up their Violent Closure EP by releasing a new song called “Mental Static.” At the time, Gel said that song would eventually appear on a split EP. Now, we know more about that. In a few weeks, Gel will release their new split with the excellently named Romanian band Cold Brats, who released their LP-length compilation Punk In The Digital Age last year.

“Mental Static” is on Gel’s side of the EP and the band has also shared another new song, a towering two-minute chug called “Predominant Mask.” As for Cold Brats, they’ve released a fast, grimy, satisfying new track called “Cli-Check-Mate,” which makes a nice complement to Gel’s energy. Listen to both “Predominant Mask” and “Cli-Check-Mate” below.

The Gel/Cold Brats split Shock Therapy is out 8/12 on Convulse Records.