Psychocide are an alt-rock group from Montreal inspired by the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand; and their edgy, angular sound shows off both sides of the band’s personality—deadly serious as well as comically self-deprecating. Their latest EP Hungover was released in October, and although in many ways a follow up to last year’s Alcohol & Bad Decisions, it shows off a newfound aesthetic and sonic maturity. The band has moved away a little bit from some classic rock roots, and the production is leaner, the vocals more self-confident, and the band’s image never more fully formed.
The only thing larger than the band’s personality are their riffs, and their presence is laden with a thick wall of guitars from the beginning on “Confined.” It’s a level of intensity that only increases until the end with the tempestuous and brooding “Crash.” They break the mold twice on the EP, and it actually provides for some of the EP’s best moments. “Unattainable” is raw and brooding in its nervous energy, and the slowest track “My Favorite Game” is a hypnotizing and dark contemplation of a love lost. In fact, the title of Hungover is misleading, because the EP finds Psychocide with a renewed sense of creativity.
