Soul Glo’s 2022 album Diaspora Problems is getting renewed attention as the band prepares to release a new record, NA I’M GON GRAB ALLAT, in January. Two singles from the upcoming album have already dropped. In the meantime, listeners have been returning to Diaspora Problems, and the band’s earlier Songs to Yeet at the Sun, for a reminder of what makes the Philadelphia hardcore outfit stand out.
Diaspora Problems opens with “Gold Chain Punk (whogonbeatmyass?),” which begins with a bong rip before moving into a hardcore riff. Frontman Pierce Jordan delivers ranting vocals that shift into a half-time stomp, with Jordan screaming about who would beat his ass. The track moves through several sections without letting its energy drop, and Jordan pushes his voice to its limit while asking whether he can live.
The album barely slows after that. “Coming Correct” opens with a cough and a steady 808, giving listeners about three seconds before Jordan jumps in. The song stacks elements quickly and reaches a full firestorm by 25 seconds in, then holds that intensity for the rest of its three-minute runtime.
The front portion of the record is unrelenting hardcore song after hardcore song. Jordan’s charisma carries the album as he moves between leftist rhetoric, goofy bits about smoking weed, and vulnerable explorations of his struggles with depression. His rapid-fire delivery draws almost as much from modern rappers as from classic hardcore acts like Minor Threat or Bad Brains.
Track six, “Driponomics,” embraces those modern influences with trap snares, wall-rattling 808 kicks, and a guest verse from Mother Maryrose. The sampled guitar calls to mind the sax squeals favored by the Bomb Squad, only heavier.
The album culminates in “Spiritual Level Of Gang Shit,” which features guest verses from McKinley Dixon and Lojii over gently echoed guitar melodies and a dub-inspired groove. Around the 2:20 mark the guitars turn punishing and the drums shift to a standard hardcore beat. Almost a minute later, a horn section kicks in to bring the song to its final form.
Next to other modern hardcore standard bearers like Turnstile, Soul Glo might almost seem like traditionalists heavily influenced by the DC scene. Diaspora Problems shows the band’s ambition and willingness to take risks, playing with genre, being confrontational in its politics, and remaining uncompromising. Soul Glo also puts on a hell of a live show. Diaspora Problems is available on Bandcamp and most major streaming services, including Qobuz, Deezer, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Spotify.
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