Expectations always seem to get the better of me. I’m the sort of person that starts stringing together possibilities the moment I hear about anything I’m remotely excited about. New records, movies, books—they all get subjected to the same restless anticipation. Give me just a glimmer of information and my mind takes off, constructing new scaffoldings for what I imagine these works will look, feel, and sound like. Sometimes there’s harmony between my vision and the end product. At other times I’m awestruck by how little my imagination prepared me for what I’ve experienced. But more often than not, I’m simply left disappointed.

Enter Upchuck whose new two-song 7″ is the first piece of new music we’ve heard from the group since their thrilling 2020 debut. That EP, which blended ragged bits of hardcore, metal, and hip-hop into a raw and eclectic punk rock stew, earned its place among our favorite records of the year. So naturally, we’ve been eager to hear what sort of caustic magic the local five-piece turns out next.

And, damn, does Upchuck ever deliver! Bolstered by churning guitars, the eponymous opening track carves a formidable path, coarse and resolute but still seething at the edges. The band’s penchant for experimentation remains, stretching familiar punk and metal frameworks into exciting new shapes. Sonically, everything sounds bigger, louder, and packed with more walloping intensity. Meanwhile, vocalist KT continues her role as the band’s emotional lodestar. Her ardent delivery and piercing observations are the fulcrum upon which the group’s incendiary attack rests. When she pleads, “Be a savior,” it’s not immediately clear whether she’s being earnest or sardonic. Either way, it’s gut-wrenching.

As for the B-side, “In Your Mind” is a veritable whirlwind of buzzing hardcore punk ferocity. The full-throttle pacing makes it feel more unhinged but Upchuck never sounds like a band that’s tearing apart at the seams. Yes, they’re persistently agitated and confrontational, but theirs is a controlled fury. KT isn’t so much pointing fingers or hurling accusations as she is exorcising personal traumas. In the process, she imbues a kind of hard-won liberation that’s cathartic for both artist and audience.

And maybe that’s the point—of their music, of a bloodied KT on the cover, of their chosen name. Purge your pain, expel your suffering, weed out your hate. Allowing it to fester only breeds further self-harm and clouded judgment. Focus it instead on exposing abusers and dismantling systems of oppression. The future, dark and grim as it looks, demands it.

Upchuck will celebrate the release of their new 7″ tomorrow night, Nov. 6, at Eyedrum alongside It’s About Time and No Touch. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $15 in advance or $20 DOS. All ages.

More Info
Bandcamp: upchuckatl.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @_upchuck_