Stress Positions "Harsh Reality"
FORMAT | LP
Stress Positions is a band from Chicago, IL. The band is made up of three members from the now-defunct C.H.E.W. (Drummer Jonathan Giralt, guitarist Benyamin Rudolph, and bassist Russell Harrison) with new vocalist Stephanie Brooks. The band formed in 2020 during the Covid pandemic and plays forward-looking classic American hardcore punk. A new EP on Iron Lung records is due in September, as is an LP from Three One G. This is jungle D-Beats for clapping cheeks. Expect the unexpected in the kingdom of madness.
Harsh Reality was recorded by Seth Engel (Floatie, C.H.E.W, Nnamdi, Ratboys ), mixed by Matt Russell (Big Laugh, Oozing Wound, Rezen), and mastered by James Plotkin (Botch, Voivod, Cave In).
“Stress Positions barrel through most of these songs at such blistering speeds that they almost become airborne, leaving scorch marks on the ground. Giralt’s dense, thundering drumming ignites the band’s riffs and gives them their core character—they’re relentless and frantic, though they can jump from pulverizing to swinging like flicking a light switch. Stress Positions are as loud as you’d expect—Rudolph’s seesawing guitars alone can fill a room—but Brooks’s voice is somehow even louder, so that her sharp holler punctures the avalanche of noise like a giant spike.” —Chicago Reader
“...there’s so much detail and nuance immediately found in the songwriting, creating tension and resolve, only to bludgeon it all into obscurity. This is not caveman hardcore, Stress Positions play with a sense of brilliance and a earthquaking dexterity. C.H.E.W. may be no more, but long live Stress Positions, perhaps your new favorite hardcore band.”—Post-Trash
“...hardcore with lots of fun surprises thrown in… Vocalist Stephanie Brooks has a brutal vocal delivery that oscillates between shredding and shrieking, only slowing down to softer singing on an occasion or two… highly recommended.”—Maximum RocknRoll
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