Exclusive Stream: Spell Runner's New EP Is The Bastard Child Of Hardcore And Surf Rock

Hardcore isn't a genre one normally thinks of as 'far out,' but Spell Runner have made it work spectacularly. The Albany, New York, quartet play a jangling, joyful form of rock that mixes the angular fury of Fugazi, the cynical swagger of Dead Kennedys, and the string-bending good time of classic surf artists like Dick Dale and The Trashmen into a cinematic sound that'll have fans bobbing their heads like pigeons on trucker speed.

The band's debut EP, Always On The Cool, takes this vibe for a long, hard ride. Over seven jocular, fist-swinging tunes, the band take listeners through a drunken brawl at a belly dance, mixing surf rock's Arabic overtones with hard-edged punk. The music would be utterly Californian if not for the concrete-lined aspects of east-coast hardcore injected throughout. The sonic profile seems to give their name some credence -- this comes off like the soundtrack to a sweating dude in an old Caddy showing up at a motel to sell a book of ancient black magic.

Listen to Spell Runner's Always On The Cool EP in full below:

Check out the EP's menacing, old-school cover art below:

Spell Runner's Always On The Cool comes out this Friday, April 20th, on Fuzz Records, and is available for preorder.

The band are heading out on a U.S. tour this summer, so get your bippy kicked in at one of the following dates:

May 2019

3 - Montreal, Canada @ Casa De Popolo
4 - Windsor, ME @ Squashed Warehouse
5 - Western MA @ TBA

June 2019

6 - Ottowa, Canada @ Pressed
7 - Toronto, Canada @ House Show
8 - Detroit, MI @ House Show
9 - Chicago IL @ TBA
10 - Cincinatti, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
11 - Atlanta, GA @ TBA
12 - Charlotte, NC @ Oso Skatepark
13 - Richmond, VA @ Gallery House
14 - Philadelphia, PA @ Cousin Danny's
15 - Albany, NY @ Social Justice Center (Record Release Show)