Usurp Synapse Polite Grotesqueries 10″
Legendary Indiana-based screamo outfit USURP SYNAPSE resurfaces with Polite Grotesqueries, a vinyl reissue of their AssIIAss cassette originally released on Zegema Beach. Criminally overlooked compared to their early-’00s peers, the band delivers technical, aggressive, and unpretentious art-noise that calls to mind early DAUGHTERS, RACEBANNON, or a less perfect the LOCUST. Cramming a handful of minute-long panic attacks between a couple of two-minute epics, this EP may come off slightly more restrained than some of the scorched-earth chaos from their heyday (collected on the excellent 2003 compilation Disinformation Fix), but I don’t think they’ve ever sounded this good on record. Whatever they’ve been doing during their extended vanishing act, I’m not about to question it when the results slap this hard. Welcome back, you beautiful chaos demons.