Where they from?
Illinois. I went to Chicago for the first time this past May to be the best man in my brother’s wedding and it was actually a pretty cool place. Everyone out there seems to be happier and nicer than us on the east coast, unfortunately the Chicago accent is an extremely painful thing to endure. It’s like the human form of when you see a fish wrangling around with a hook in its mouth.
What do they sound like?
As much as I hate the term “Grindviolence,” I think you could pretty accurately use that to describe this band right here.
Why the hype?
Man, I feel like these past few months have been filled with my VERY SERIOUS reviews of VERY SERIOUS bands (i.e. anything related to Jon Chang). So what a relief it was to come across this EP when I was swimming along the various backchannels of the grindcore internet. Most of the bands I write about for this column I have at least some familiarity with but can safely say that up until three days ago I had no idea that this band even existed.
But, ugh, what a band! How refreshing it is to hear something this raw and heavy in the year of VERY SERIOUS grindcore. Shrivel Up provide some of that classic Midwest harshness and spazztic blurcore similar to bands like HORSEBASTARD and Mellow Harsher but through samples and the occasional disharmonic arpeggio, manage to leave their own impression on a style of grindcore that basically is catnip for nerds like me. Seriously, it’s like I’m a 14-year-old white girl and this band is my Post Malone.
Latest Release?
Their debut self-titled album from earlier this year. Though I rarely ever consider such things I do have to wonder, what is the reasoning behind this band’s name? It’s a penis reference, right? Maybe a tip of the hat to that classic Seinfeld episode about how your penis shrinks when you go in the swimming pool? Or is it something more sinister? Is it about the modern psychological decay that we as humans are forced to embrace as a way of adhering to a capitalist system that seeks to commodify human emotions? These are the questions I have and they are VERY SERIOUS.
