If you blindfolded me and played me the self-titled debut from Aurora thrash band Sour, I’d totally believe it’d been recorded in 1984 with a cassette four-track in a dusty garage. They recall thrash metal’s glory days with guitar shredding that makes you want to skateboard off your roof, drumming that erupts with cavalcades of cymbal crashes, and vocals that fight through the nonstop din as little more than half-swallowed grunts. The band dropped Sour just last month, though, and when you listen closely you can tell the album has a contemporary point of view—it’s most obvious on “Truth Be Told,” which opens by sampling Timothy Burke’s 2018 montage of Sinclair Media TV news affiliates all parroting the same piece of company-provided right-wing propaganda (which should clue you in about the song’s subject matter). Guitarist-vocalist Danny Schwartz, drummer-vocalist Juanangel Perez, and bassist Jake Velez (who left the band in January, after finishing recording) show a lot of promise on this full-length, which takes aim at the the status quo’s rotting core with every dingy, restless ripper. Even Sour’s most slapdash turns—the vocals on “Eve of Your End” sound like they’re racing to catch up with the song—have a bruised charm. v
Sour by Sour
Self-released sourthrash.bandcamp.com
