Across their forthcoming new album (due out in February), post-punk group Algiers look to subvert traditional band roles, operating as more of a collective with a litany of special guest appearances, including one by none other than Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha. The result is a boundary-pushing LP, and a recent single that hits at once from all angles.
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Stream: “Irreversible Damage” – Algiers ft. Zack de la Rocha
The forthcoming Algiers record, Shook, is an exercise in experimentation, in how far one can go when the boundaries of traditional production, genre and even collaboration are stripped away, rebuilt and revamped entirely.
If that sounds difficult to wrap your mind around, then welcome to a brave new frontier, a world where Atlanta’s multi-genre, hard-to-define Algiers want to bring you into the fold – and perhaps encourage a deeper look at the world around you.
It’s easy to hear in the intense, skittish opening and refrain that kicks off propulsive recent single “Irreversible Damage,” which calls out “Time is over/time is over/time to go” – and the journey and the destination are wholly different than anything seen before.
You should be
Screaming out
And ringing
Like the alarm
That you ignore
The end result of that single sprang from time spent by Algiers in Atlanta (as they say, “the world got shook,”) and Algiers quickly got to work. Shook is a 17-track effort that blurs and blends the worlds of rap and post-punk, much as Algiers has done since its 2015 debut on Matador (the newest LP also drops on Matador next year).
Multi-instrumentalist Ryan Mahan says “we all got shook,” but as the world crumbled around them, it sounds as if Algiers found even greater inspiration in their own community.
It’s too late to change the time now
Too late to keep the past from coming
That collaborative spirit was on display on a chilly Brooklyn night at tastemaking Williamsburg venue National Sawdust, never one to put forth anything but intensely fascinating acts onstage.
A whirlwind of guests joined Algiers across two sprawling yet somehow compact 40-minute sets, interspersed with two 20-minute sets from King Vision Ultra.
It was a demonstration that put community and intense connection at the forefront, yielding a tasteful and intriguing live product – a standard multi-guitar indie rock show, this was not (in the best way possible).
It also speaks to the fact that Algiers are perhaps out beyond the breakers or boundaries of what the world should look like – a sentiment anyone can relate to, not least dating back to 2020.
Irreversible damage
Undeniable
Something real
Has shifted in the air
It’s Unsurvivable
Don’t take the bait
My friend
Elected your electric chair
Now you extend your hand
The world Algiers sees might just be like the world you see, grim though that might sound.
Once again, “Irreversible Damage” puts it quite plainly: “Undeniable, something real has shifted in the air, it’s unsurvivable.”
The track, with hits of searing guitar atop a rapidly escalating beat, is intensely affecting, rugged and jagged and loud in all the right ways. One look at its YouTube comments proves both longtime and new listeners can’t get enough.
It’s a nuanced look at the unique intersection occupied by Algiers, a group never content to rest on its laurels. It’s also a satisfying entry point as the LP’s February release date approaches – until then, Algiers seem to say: Keep your head on a swivel, because you never know what awaits out in the world.
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:: stream/purchase Shook here ::
Stream: “Irreversible Damage” – Algiers ft. Zack de la Rocha
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