The stars are aligning for Baltimore, Maryland, hardcore crew Jivebomb, who have just premiered another crushing cut from their forthcoming debut LP, ETHEREAL. This time, they’re flexing fast beats, primitive punk riffs and the concept of facing a new reality on their raging “ESTRELA.”
While last month’s “SURVIVAL AIN’T TAUGHT” single knuckled-down into a bruising groove, “ESTRELA” picks up the pace with an octopus-armed drum intro, one-two street-core beats and savagely-simple power chording. A mid-tempo breakdown crackles through the speakers along with a thunderstorm-like round of extraneous noise.
Kat Madeira growls a transcendent set of lines that hint at “the erasure of sensation,” escaping “the old me” and more. She explained in a statement that “ESTRELA” is about “letting a past self die in order to grow, rather than being complacent in your shit life.”
Madeira also noted that it was inspired by iconic jazz vocalist Billie Holiday’s powerful 1941 take on European standard “Gloomy Sunday” (a.k.a. “The Famous Hungarian Suicide Song”).
“This song has been written (lyrically) for a while, and I was on a heavy Billie Holiday kick at the time,” she said, adding, “[Holiday] has a devastating song where she says, ‘Angels have no thoughts of ever returning you — would they be angry if I thought of joining you?’ so there’s an ode to that in ‘ESTRELA.’”
You can check out the new Jivebomb joint by giving the live footage-loaded video, directed by Noah Haycock, a peep up above. While band members are seen slugging down what seems to be a can of beer onstage, it cannot be confirmed by Revolver whether or not this was indeed an Estrella lager.
As previously reported, Jivebomb’s ETHEREAL was recorded with Uniform’s Ben Greenberg at Circular Ruin in Brooklyn, New York. The album is due out March 28th via Flatspot Records and can be pre-ordered here.