Day 52: Hundredth — Rare
Probably the worst joke I tell people is that my musical wheelhouse is “former straight-edge hardcore kids who started smoking weed and listening to My Bloody Valentine”. It doesn’t perfectly describe the heavier, more urgent approach to shoegaze pioneered in recent times exemplified by bands like Title Fight, Turnover and Nothing. There’s no standard blueprint for making music like this. But at their best, artists in this microgenre can go from creating a distant dreamscape to the crushing immediacy of the mosh pit in the time it takes to toggle a reverb pedal.
Knowing my proclivity for that sort of thing, a friend recently brought Myrtle Beach, South Carolina’s Hundredth to my attention. While most “gazecore” or “grungegaze” (both feel clunky and neither fits) make a gradual transition from angsty upstarts to full-time navel gazers, Hundredth seems to have skipped a few steps, alienating a wide swath of their fans in the process. Considering that it took less than two years to whiplash from double bass pedal metalcore to the reverb-drenched indie of Rare(a turn so aggressive that they’ve said on record that they won’t play their old music live anymore), one can understand the sense of alienation from the checkered vans/Warped Tour set.
Naturally, there are some growing pains as Hundredth tries to settle into their radically different sound. Some songs seem over-reliant on the production, using reverb and other studio effects to add a layer of distance over otherwise pedestrian hard rock structures. At other times, they fall into the trap of post-punk pandering, dialing up the chorus pedal to almost campy levels of Cure homage.
But there’s plenty of room in the middle, and that’s where Rare feels most worthwhile. When they’re at their best, Hundredth strike the balance between paying homage to post punk and holding onto their older tendencies. Tracks like “White Squall” have verses with Johnny Marr-esque guitar parts that blossom into beautifully leaden choruses that would float away if they weren’t anchored by that lingering desire for heaviness that Hundredth (thankfully) can’t seem to shake entirely. “Down” and “Grey” show how this middle ground between old Hundredth and their new influences can lead to interesting moments, as each has an unexpected harmony or slight tonal shift make the songs feel like they straddle two different worlds.
Of course, your mileage will likely vary. I come from a place of loving both the deep well of British indie influences that Rare draws from and the stop-start chugging riffs that were once Hundredth’s calling card. The fact that a handful of bands seem to walk that line these days implies I’m far from the only one, but this isn’t a sound that’s ever going to hit the big stage at a mainstream festival. This isn’t a case of Hundredth selling out as much as following a new muse. Rare is a bold, ballsy effort to switch things up that hits the mark some of the time. Assuming their massive aural overhaul doesn’t tear the band apart, I’d be interested in seeing how their next record might settle into something that’s less a reconciliation of conflicting styles and more of a vision for something new.
This is Day 52 in my 100 albums in 100 days series, where I review a new album or EP I haven’t heard in full before every day through December 31st. Check out yesterday’s post or see the full archives for more.
