STREAMING: Family: “Bridge & Tunnel”

We’re sorry to do this to you, but this little premiere we’re going to bust out today, is going to make the next several weeks drag on as you anxiously await the release of Family’s debut album for Pelagic, Portrait, on October 30. We can guarandamntee you we will be spinning our advance copy incessantly. We tell you this mostly because we want to make you feel bad.
What’s all the fuss about? Well, Family are a Brooklyn-based quartet—half native New Yorkers, half Southerners—that have taken a cue from Mastodon and sprinkled some freshly ground classic rock on their meaty version of modern metal. It has groove, it has rage, it has some serious bludgeon capacity. There are even progressive touches to the arrangements that cohesively bounce through all kinds of tempos, riffs and moods. We hear Unsane splatter-scrape, Soundgarden throb and maybe just a touch of 21st century dirty-knees blues.

Who is responsible for this ruckus?, you may ask. Here’s who: guitarists Steven Gordon (of MetalSucks notoriety) and Joshua Lozano ( who’s also played with Cobalt and ex-Swans vocalist Jarboe), drummer Jody Smith and bassist/vocalist Kurtis Lee Applegate.

The tune we’ve bestowed upon you below, “Bridge & Tunnel,” is a good indication of what the rest of Portrait has in store. There are plenty of dynamic peaks and valleys both within each song and from song to song on the album. We are particularly fond of the part two minutes in where Family digs into a grinding riff and drummer Smith decides to kick in the double bass for a spell. Like the entire album, it features a good mix of crunchy and smooth(ish). Hell, see for yourself.

Since we feel a little bad for teasing you with this track, we’ll go ahead and send you over to the band’s Facebook page, where you can also stream a second track, “Bopsky,” from Portrait. Not sure if it’ll make the wait until Oct 30 any easier, but at least it’ll give you an additional peek at what is sure to be one of our favorites of 2012.