“There’s a sense of nihilism, anxiety and anger”: Inside SPACED’s No Escape EP

In a year that has continued to see hardcore rising up in a truly breath-taking way, ‘far-out’ specialists SPACED are enjoying the ride with the release of their new Pure Noise Records EP, No Escape. Here, the Buffalo, New York crew take us inside each of its five tracks…

“No Escape was written amid a slew of instrumentals, and originally had an extra 30 seconds of varying verses and extended bridge parts. We weren’t sure what to make of it, but sliced and diced it to the primary riff and threw the intro hits later on. Lexi [Reyngoudt, vocals] tossed her parts over it, creating the record’s central message relating to a sense of nihilism, anxiety and anger – be it the political atmosphere, feeling trapped or any sort of dread or apprehension.”

“Cause And Effect came together quickly and featured the elements we gravitate toward to shape our sound: a riff centred on the groove, a shift in tone complemented by a phaser and a repeatable, catchy chorus. The outro allowed us to add the noisier textures we love to throw in during a tempo change while keeping it hard for a side-to-side. We knew it’d be the single from the jump. Lyrically, it expresses the rage and frustration we all feel and relate to in response to what’s happening around us every day.”

“Being the last track written for the record – a few weeks before recording, even – How Did It Come To This? felt like a band favourite when we were recording it. Feedback, drum tom section and killer bass right into Lexi’s chorus hook; it was everything we looked for in a song to translate live. It was based as a companion piece to Cause And Effect, furthering the message of how we got here and what we can do about it. It could be as singular as someone stuck in a lousy relationship or job, or as broad as not knowing how to get through each day.”

“Pressure was the track meant for getting the general anxieties and strain we all discern – some of us every day, some of us every few months. We had the riff for it in the vault for a minute, but didn’t know how to get it out for a full track. Eventually, we tried a build format that incorporated drum rolls and made the verse section serve as a bridge. We tried some different strum styles for the verse and settled on fast picking and palm muting while recording. It’s been hitting hard live.”

“Similar to No Escape, there were a few versions of Dog Bite before we settled on the format it became. It took a couple of months to figure out the instrumental, but got it down to not feel convoluted. It’s a pure rage song about fighting back and not letting the daily suffocation of living day to day get the best of us.”

No Escape is out now via Pure Noise Records

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