Special Victim

This Austin-based band takes to the cosmos with a sound that explodes deep in the night sky. The consistent fireworks make their debut album, Special Victim, a heavy-duty experience on mind and body. The singing is so deep in the mix that even with a lyric sheet it’s difficult, if not impossible, to discern where the vocalists are headed. Yet, the solid block of guitars, synths, and relentless drums ensures that songs like “Junkhammer,” “Basements," and “Speedweed” get their points of personal and political frustration across. Recorded and mixed by This Will Destroy You’s Alex Bhore in a funeral home–turned–studio owned by producer John Congleton, Special Victim has an underground sound that imagines what The Jesus & Mary Chain might be like if they’d taken a liking to thrash rhythms. By “Roman Devices” and “Dream,” the group’s subdued pop side is ditched for gothic extremes where the balance between beauty and destruction tip in favor of tortured aggression. It’s where pain equals pleasure and headbanging turns to complete body and mind slamming.