Tired of Everything, Silenced, To Live A Lie Records, ★★★½
In the truest hardcore fashion, Tired of Everything’s debut demo, Silenced, wastes no time in making its points. With six tracks that blitz by in about as many minutes, the Raleigh band unleashes a vicious polemic against animal consumption, gentrification, sexual abusers, societal privilege, struggles with mental illness, and Confederate monuments.
But there’s nothing noteworthy about a hardcore band being angry—no matter how righteously—at the problems in society. That’s step one. Tired of Everything knows the power of a gnarled hook, which many other acts lose in a frenzy of guttural vocals and belligerent breakdowns. When the band drops into a half-time stomp at the tail-end of “Industry of Lies,” vocalist Will Butler winds a factual assertion about animal casualties at the hands of American industry into a scathing accusation pointed at the listener. “Their blood is on your hands,” he screams in a near-taunt.
And later, as the band berates an unnamed (but specifically detailed) abuser on “Missing Stair,” the rushing D-beat and simple riff driving the song give a springy foundation for Butler’s venomous, chanting verses. “Power position/Hurting women/Play the victim,” he yells. “Punk progressive/ Home aggressive/Play the victim/Move to Winston/Crimes are distant/Play the victim.”
At their best, Tired of Everything offers a distillation of hardcore’s most enduring traits. They execute their songs with urgency and precision, giving platform to Butler, whose lyrics manage to convey much despite their minimalism. This might not come as a surprise to local hardcore insiders, who’ll recognize Butler from his role in Oxidant, as well as heading up the label To Live A Lie Records, or the roles his bandmates—drummer Eli Thorpe, guitarist Ryan Swinsick, and bassist Matt Sorrells—have played in bands like Zipper, Mad Dog, and Salmonella.
But what the quartet have arrived at here is a powerful and promising debut. Hopefully, they’ll have enough vitriol left for a proper full-length.
