'90s grunge, reminiscent of Bleach-era Nirvana and Tad. Raw, energetic record that defies current trends, packaged meticulously in a gatefold sleeve.

It would be so easy to say something simple like, 'They don't make 'em like this Birth (Defects) album anymore,' because it would be true. The Baltimore/DC area band recorded Deceiver / Mirror in 2017 after a handful of singles and EPs and then let the LP sit after dissolving. A deal with Reptilian breathed life into them again, and a tour is set for June to take the record to the people!
The band explains that it's 'loosely about how anyone can be a liar no matter how good of a person they are and about the impact lying has on not just the people you lie to but those connected to that person you've lied to -- or even the people connected to you as the liar.' The Deceiver side acknowledges the weight everyone has to bear due to their mistakes; the Mirror side is about the acceptance that you (or anyone, really) are capable of hurting others and trying to learn from it and listen to the people you've hurt.' This record was born in an era of significant lies and is being released into another, where theoretically suffering people find salvation through lies that destroy communities in real time -- as if somehow that justifies telling these untruths in the first place. What, then, are the truths in this work? It's heavily indebted to '90s grunge and noise, heartily recalling the whammy bar bend and distortion pedal power dynamic of Bleach-era Nirvana, the burly backwoods horror of Tad, and the deafeningly laconic riffs and studded-step rhythms of Cherubs. It dispenses with the need for ballads, each track swinging the bat around and hitting anything that walks into its flail. It's gloriously not of this time nor any other - far too late for the trend, too early and unconcerned with any impending revival. It's packaged with care in a gatefold sleeve and sonically in good hands from the start (recorded by Multicult's Nick Skrobisz, mixed by Matthew Barnhart at Electrical Audio, mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service).

Track Listing

• PREAMBLE
• YOUTH
• GLASS
• DESPOTISM
• GUILTLESS
• DOUBTS
• UNDER
• MACROSS
• TRAPPED
• THRONE
• EPILOGUE

Additional Details

Label: Reptilian Records

Genre: Alternative/Punk

Run Time: 35 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/06/25

UPC: 832915017916