North Carolina post-hardcore outfit Excide have unleashed their latest single ‘Call Box’, the final and most defining track from their forthcoming album ‘Bastard Hymns’, due November 28 through SharpTone Records.
For frontman Tyler Washington, ‘Call Box’ was the song that crystallised the entire project. “It was the ‘click’ moment for the record,” he says. “Though it formed from a later demo, it’s the song that most coherently synthesised every component of our desired outcome. It became the stencil we worked backwards from during pre-production.”
Washington explains that ‘Call Box’ captures the essence of Excide’s sonic DNA. “It’s got all the goodies from our influences – the Cast Iron Hike-style groove in the verses, a fuzzy Queens of the Stone Age bridge, and that huge ending that nods to the greats in Failure. This song is Excide at its purest and best form to date. It’s my ‘f*** you, thanks for the inspiration’ song.”
‘Bastard Hymns’ marks the next evolution for Excide following their 2022 debut ‘Deliberate Revolver’, an album that introduced their ferocious yet melodic brand of post-hardcore to a broader audience. After signing with SharpTone Records in 2023, the band – Tyler Washington (vocals), Gill Gonzalez (guitar), Gage Lanza (guitar), Caleb Hogue (bass), and Jacob Paris (drums) – found themselves reinvigorated creatively.
“Having felt like we accomplished what we came to do on the first record, there were no guidelines or barriers this time,” Washington says. “That freedom opened up so many avenues for creativity and exploration.”
Working alongside co-writer and producer Austin Coupe, Excide took their already aggressive foundation and pushed it into uncharted territory. Sonically, ‘Bastard Hymns’ draws from the late ’90s post-hardcore and alt-rock scene, merging the muscular energy of Cast Iron Hike and Snapcase with the melodic intricacy of Quicksand and Cave In. Add to that the fuzzed-out swagger of Queens of the Stone Age, the heaviness of Soundgarden, and the atmosphere of Failure, and you’ve got a record that feels both familiar and entirely new.
Washington describes it best: “It’s a fuzzy, rocky, groovy, angry record – seeped in the woes of growing up in a hillbilly hellscape and living to tell the tale. The result was ‘Bastard Hymns.’”
Excide first emerged during the height of 2020’s uncertainty, cutting their teeth on early projects ‘Two Of A Kind’ and ‘Actualize/Radiation Reel’, which hinted at their boundary-breaking direction. Their debut album ‘Deliberate Revolver’ in 2022 earned critical attention from Brooklyn Vegan, Revolver, and No Echo, who praised the band’s “dynamic blend of ’90s-flavoured hardcore and propulsive post-hardcore rhythms.”
Momentum carried into 2024 with the two-track release ‘Humdinger’, featuring ‘Dis(re)member’ and ‘All Down (But 9)’, with Stereogum noting that “both tracks go hard” and No Echo calling them “an evolution of post-hardcore that feels both nostalgic and forward-thinking.”
‘Bastard Hymns’ Tracklisting:
No Son
Worth Your Salt
Your Flowers
Pariah
Cauterized
Shine Thru Blues
Down In The Mouth
Bastard Hymn
Ruiner
Heatware
Void Of Function
Call Box
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