Harmacy - For the Mentally Ill

Corrosive vocals and sledgehammer riffs abound on For the Mentally Ill, the debut EP from Atlanta hardcore punk foursome Harmacy. Consisting of five bruising anti-anthems, it’s a bitter, acerbic record that lunges and stabs at everything in its path, but not without exuding a scathing sense of black humor that keeps the record from sinking in its own sullen rage. Indeed, if this EP has a default setting, it’s semi-amused disgust. Amidst the stinging guitars and Brandon Reid’s barked exhortations, there’s a joke lurking in here somewhere, and it’s likely Harmacy is included as the butt.

Opening track “Limitations” sets the stage for the EP’s exceedingly agitated worldview: everything in this grim and divided world is corrupt and decrepit, in need of being torn down and obliterated. The unease is palpable, swinging from bleak consternation to full-blown panic as the band forgoes brute force in favor a more nuanced attack laced with nerve-wracking stop-start rhythms. “I need to find more! I gotta have more!” Reid bellows throughout the track, and it’s difficult to decide if he’s being earnest or mocking a capitalist culture that celebrates mindless consumption above all else. Most likely, it’s a bit of both.

Indeed, much of For the Mentally Ill is riddled with repeated phrases and sloganeering meant to pummel the band’s points home. “There’s nothing there” becomes the mantra on “Hearing Stuff, Pt. 2,” serving as both an ode to paranoia and a nihilistic dismissal of the institutional structures we’ve erected for ourselves. Elsewhere, it’s all “deep breaths” (“Feeding Every Dog”) and “chin up, neck straight, eyes open” (“Nosebleed”)—expressions that get tossed out when we find ourselves on the verge of breaking down and need to snap back to attention. The intent is to seek out calm rationality, but what do you do when nothing makes sense and hate, meanness, and cruel irony rule the day? If you’re Harmacy, you put your nose to the grind and carve out a heavy dose of caustic fury—and you try not to bury yourself too deep in the farce.

At just five songs and running under 13 minutes, the EP breezes by, even as the group presses forward with their relentless bludgeoning. You can credit some of that dynamic pacing to CJ Ridings (Big Jesus) whose production accentuates the pockets of tension and space between the band’s steady rain of blows. Admittedly, Harmacy’s tool kit is limited, but what they have they wield with brutal efficiency, and the flashes of macabre wit are a welcome counter to the all-out abrasion. For the Mentally Ill won’t change the world, but for a few fleeting minutes it can damn near set it on fire.

Harmacy will perform on Fri., Mar. 23 at the EARL alongside MTN ISL (Tape Release), Casual Tiger, and Challenger Deep. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $7. 21+ to enter.

More Info
Bandcamp: harmacy.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @harmacyatl