Side projects are a weird thing.
On the one hand, they will always inevitably be draw comparisons to the members’ main projects. On the other, if it’s too different, their original fans won’t be interested at all.
Less Art, made of members of Thrice, Kowloon Walled City, and Curlupanddie, delivers a record that doesn’t just sidestep the problems that plague side projects and supergroups, but also more than stands on its own.
I was first introduced to Less Art when they were featured on Bandcamp’s homepage. And, huge Thrice fan that I am, I was immediately interested by learning that the lineup included Eddie and Riley Breckenridge, Thrice’s bassist and drummer (although Eddie plays guitar here). According to the Bandcamp interview, the group was formed out of a jokey grindcore project called Puig Destroyer, but when Eddie joined in, they decided to take things more seriously.
And good thing for that too, because this is one of the most gorgeous hardcore records I’ve heard in a long time.
The guitar work is reminiscent of bands like Frodus, The Blamed, and Slint, marrying heaviness and melodic elements in a way that doesn’t doesn’t rob either end of the spectrum of its essence. Mike Minnick’s vocal delivery is more shouted than screamed, feeling more philosophical than just pissed off.
Don’t get me wrong—he’s plenty pissed off, but it’s not reactionary. This is a deep, profound anger rather than mere angst. Throughout the record, he pontificates on suicide, toxic masculinity, and impending mass extinctions, maintaining a bleak hope through it all.
On the opener “Optimism As Survival,” he states, “I’m too curious to kill myself,” an odd, yet effective argument against suicide while the guitars chime between chord hits and arpeggios. It’s foiled on the B-side by “Pessimism As Denial,” a mosh-ready lament on the ineffectiveness of arguing about problems while letting them get worse. “While the armchair activists and contrary fanatics / Fight over who cares more about caring less…we all remain enraged / And nothing fucking changes.”
Tracks like “Mood 7 Mind Destroyer” and “Crushed Out” forge full speed ahead with a hardcore fury that would keep any purist happy. But where the record really shines is in more pensive tracks like “Wandering Ghost,” “Shapeshifter,” and “What Is It In Man?” which brood with a menace borrowed from Kowloon Walled City’s brand of sludgy doomcore.
Throughout the record’s dynamic rises and falls, Less Art consistently demonstrates how the five members bring the best of each project together to a more-than-satisfying whole. While many side projects are mere appendices to the main project, Less Art feels essential. This would be a remarkable record even if the members didn’t have more famous credits.
And, if I ever join a hardcore band, I’d want it to be something like this.