Cruel

Genre: alternative/rock Label: Angel Tapes

Revved up and out of the gates of Chicago’s expansive DIY scene comes the newbie band, Cruel, and the release of their debut EP, Common Rituals. Off of the newly formed Angel Tapes, an extension of New York’s Fire Talk Records, the band is at home with its rough and deliberately melodic post-punk sound. With recording and mixing help by Jack Henry (Friko, Free Range, Horsegirl) and mastering by Greg Orbis (Stuck, Lifeguard, Deeper), the four-piece strike a deal between punk antiquity and alternative’s melodic variety to release the next Chicago stalwart of rock music. 

Cruel, consisting of Michael Schrieber (vocals/guitar), Jen Ashley (bass), Brent Favata (drums) and Jack Kelsey (guitar) is a ruthless and well constructed group of musicians. There is no doubting the intensity that comes off of this EP more than the very moment it begins. The opening track and the first single released, “Gutter”, is a trial of human exposure to a relentless system. With an explosive guitar riff right off the bat and drums and bass rumblings underneath, Schrieber growls into a song about societal expectations of labor and moral bending. “Forty hours a week I lose myself on my knees / Forty times a night I tell myself I’ll get more sleep”, Schreiber screams as the chorus finds its steady ground. 

Emerging with guitar chunks and pounding tom-tom runs, “Damage” has a rhythmic change, initiating a maturely paced intensity. With a melody reminiscent of the glory days of punk music, with its simplicity yet engaging and angsty lyricism, “Damage” finds the band speaking to the self-destructive nature of youth. As the two guitars duel between dissonant bends into harmonious and satisfied chord progression, the feeling rises up into a release of our own pent up frustrations. “Demeanor”, one of the catchiest tracks of the EP, is a rush to a secular life. With the drums, bass, and guitars all in a mutual understanding during the instrumental rundowns, “Demeanor” is a screaming conversation towards a one sided systemic scheme. “Count me out / Of your affiliation / I won’t take part / In any congregation” Schrieber demands. 

With the fuzziest sound on the album, the closing track “Tuesday” is a thrashing escapade that barely scrapes over two minutes long. With the implementation of a stop time effectively used to break up the wall of sound, the band closes the EP with a catchy and repetitive headbanger that is as memorable as it is loud. (very). 

At only four tracks long, Common Rituals is a fresh take on the importance of punk music in a DIY scene. Loud, thrashing, and emotionally blending, Cruel stands their ground, in a rather dying world, as a defiant and exciting new voice to be reckoned with.

Written by Shea Roney

You can support Cruel here: bandcamp