Plosivs

Swami Records and PLOSIVS — the brand new punk outfit featuring John Reis (Hot Snakes / Rocket From The Crypt / Drive Like Jehu), Rob Crow (Pinback), Atom Willard (Against Me!) and Jordan Clark (Mrs. Magician) — are excited to announce the Thursday, March 17 release of its 10-song self-titled debut album. Recorded in October 2020 at Singing Serpent Studios with engineer Ben Moore, PLOSIVS is a new sound created in the “distance rock” movement that was born during a year of canceled tours, postponed record releases and a vast horizon of unemployment. “I feel we started this group when we did to push back against an overwhelming sense of uncertainty, confusion, loss and sadness. The bummer needed an opposition,” said Reis. “For me, the antidote always begins with the electric guitar.”

Stream the album’s gripping new single, “Broken Eyes,”below. Crow had the following to share about the song: “To me, an obvious universal psychological protocol should be to remember there are as many perspectives to any event or situation as there are sentient beings affected by the experience, as opposed to the apocryphal notion of ‘two sides to every story’. For a person to claim an absolute based on the one experience and perspective they can ever truly know seems irrational.”

Denoting consonants that are produced by stopping the airflow by using the lips, teeth or palate, followed by a sudden release of air, the misspelling of PLOSIVS is intentional. In audio recording it refers to the loud, vocal pop created by the hard consonant that overwhelms the microphone and causes it to distort.

So what does this have to do with a new, angular and melodic punk band from San Diego? Perhaps their affection for this anomaly is celebrated and is symbolic of their appreciation for imperfection. Or maybe the word just sounds cool to them.

Although PLOSIVS is a new outfit of very young men, personally, they have accomplished much in their early careers. Vocalist/guitarist Rob Crow is known for being in Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Thingy, Physics and hundreds more. The length of drummer Atom Willard’s résumé rivals a CVS receipt and is a who’s who of alternative rock royalty: Against Me!, The Offspring, Rocket From The Crypt, Danko Jones, Social Distortion and Angels And Airwaves. Jordan Clark played bass with Mrs. Magician and guitar for The Frights and The Soaks. And prior to PLOSIVS, guitarist John Reis was and is associated with Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt, Night Marchers and The Sultans.

Together, they independently isolated during what then seemed like the height of the pandemic (October 2020). After a short duration of ideas passed back and forth, they convened as a group for the very first time at Singing Serpent Studio in San Diego with Ben Moore at the controls and recorded this 10-song self-titled record. A foundation of guitar dissonance, velocity and harmonic interplay is the basis for its concept in creating tension and release. The rhythm section is not content to merely fortify the bedrock. Instead, jet propelled, accents lash and Earth is moved. Crow’s voice is the guide that illuminates the implied melody. His easy tone contradicts the hectic atmosphere yet its compatibility invents the entire mood. Together, PLOSIVS is something only this assemblage of music vets could develop and create during these uncertain times.