Smierc

***Stockholm's SMIERC formed in 2017 with the intent of playing straight forward melodic hardcore and honoring classic Polish hardcore bands like Dezerter and Siekiera. Opor, their third album is a fantastically ambitious album combining those influences and the dialogue between punk and post-punk, Mid-south downtuned hardcore and Swedish D-Beat. The nine tracks experiment with mood, instrumentation and language to create a special album of, as the title translates to, RESISTANCE. The lyrics, sung in English, Polish and Swedish are woven together in an attempt to create the feeling of stream of consciousness, taking the listener on a journey that begins in a collective grief. This sorrow often grows into a murmur; a slow, subdued mumble. A murmur that increases into higher voices. Voices that become a collective roar, turning into a resistance that demands the outside world to stop and to take notice. The album was recorded and mixed at The Dustward together with Stefan Brändström in the spring of 2024 and is a co-release with the legendary Polish label, NIKT NIC NIE WIE. This first US version is limited to 200 copies and pressed on yellow-black swirl vinyl in a heavy matte sleeve with a fold out printed insert.