Domino Recording Company – 02 DEC 2022
For their final album, White Lung reminds us why their break-up is such a loss
White Lung took the entire hardcore world by storm in 2016 when, for their fourth album Paradise, they incorporated dream pop elements into their noise-punk sound. Paradise was a unique sound that pretty much nobody has replicated. It’s been a long six years waiting for the follow up that LP, and it’s disappointing to hear that it’s to be their final album.
But for a swan song, it’s hard to do better than Premonition. It picks up where Paradise left off, infusing that hardcore sound with dream pop to make a second go-round with their unique new sound to create a rare phenomenon: an upbeat hardcore record. It’s made all the better by frontwoman Mish Barber-Way giving the vocal performance of a lifetime, carrying some incredible notes throughout the album.
“Hysteric” kicks the album off with these happy guitar chords before ripping into a metal-style guitar riff for something fun and fast but also positive. Lead single “Date Night” describes a disastrous date with God himself that makes the deity out to be a petty fool, while “Under Glass” is one of the album’s more subdued tracks and, much like the title suggests, the tune is as delicate as glass.
“Mountain” then leads with those gorgeous keyboards before the guitar comes ripping back through. But while most of this unusual hardcore album favors melody over power, “Girl” manages to combine the two perfectly. “One Day” is a catchy little tune with an abrupt drop-off that then gives way to the raging closer “Winter.”
The final album from White Lung highlights exactly why they’re such a difficult band to say goodbye to, even if there’s not as many people mourning this loss as there should be. Barber-Way is one of the most underrated frontwomen in punk being fiercely powerful, energetic, and blunt. Nobody is copying White Lung right now, and it’s hard to see why because their producing some of the best art in hardcore. It’s largely because this record is so good that makes White Lung’s breakup such a loss.
Julie is punk rock, lesbian time lady from the future. The greatest things in the world are punk rock and science fiction. Check out her website JulieRiver.com!
