Briony Edwards, online editor at Louder, on Gouge Away's Burnt Sugar
Don’t be fooled by the Pixies nod in their name – Gouge Away’s deliciously scrappy take on post-hardcore owes more to the likes of The Jesus Lizard, Babes In Toyland or Brainiac than it does their alt-rock namesake. They started off as a “hardcore band with a cause”, and second album Burnt Sugar makes good on the promise laid out on 2016 debut Dies by throwing together angular noise-rock, thrashing garage punk and a smattering of shoegaze, tightening their infectious fury into a searing takedown of modern society.
With the support of new label Deathwish Inc and a European tour with fellow punk-rock upstarts Culture Abuse, Gouge Away have recently been able to break out of their local Florida scene, and it’s exciting to see more people take notice of a band who make an unapologetic racket with a worthy message.
Noise-rock has enjoyed a renaissance in 2018 – check out the new releases from Savak, Exhalants and Irk – and records like this one just bolster its place as one of alternative music’s genres to watch. Raw and uncompromising but with a delicate edge, Gouge Away could be on the cusp of something exciting indeed.
