Baltimore, MD · alternative · power-pop · post-hardcore

Angel Du$t

2 upcoming festivals ↓

Hardcore veterans making sunny, ramshackle power-pop with the energy of a band that has nothing to prove — Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice pedigree, zero tough-guy posture.

Angel Du$t formed in Baltimore in 2013, pulling together musicians from the city's hardcore scene: vocalist Justice Tripp of Trapped Under Ice, guitarist Michael Quick, bassist Nicholas Heitman, drummer Daniel Fang and guitarist Pat McCrory, both of Turnstile. Tripp has remained the band's only constant member through several line-up changes since.

The band's debut album, A.D., came out in 2014, followed in 2016 by Rock the Fuck on Forever, both staying close to short, fast hardcore punk. Bassist Jeff Caffey and guitarist Brendan Yates joined in 2017, rounding out the line-up that would record the band's turn toward melody.

That turn arrived fully on Pretty Buff, released in 2019 on Roadrunner Records, which pushed the band toward acoustic power pop influenced by bands like The Lemonheads. Much of its lyrical content concerned the death of Tripp's dog, Spike, and the album was named among the best of 2019 by both Kerrang! and Loudwire.

The follow-up, Yak: A Collection of Truck Songs, arrived in 2021 and included "Dancing on the Radio," featuring Tim Armstrong of Rancid, the band's first outside guest. Angel Du$t has since moved from Roadrunner Records to Run for Cover Records and released further albums, six in total to date.

Live, the band favours scrappy enthusiasm over the tough-guy posture common to the scene its members came from, and its songs, built on handclaps and hooks drawn from power-pop and classic rock, rarely outstay their welcome.

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alternativepower-poppost-hardcore