Great Finds: The Threats - 'Bon Voyage' & 'Lifeboat'

The Threats are really onto something with 'Bon Voyage' & 'Lifeboat'.

Released last month and seemingly flying under everyone's radar, was the new single from Atlanta's The Threats - the post-hardcore noises of 'Bon Voyage'. Now, a band name like that sounds like a dime-a-dozen Brit-rock acts, and while their own About section on their socials ironically lists them as "soft rock", that's just so far from the truth. In short, these American guys are loud, angular, chaotic and unexpected. Which is basically my musical kink as long-time KYS readers will no doubt know.

The influences of bands like Every Time I Die, '68, The Chariot, and Norma Jean will not be lost on the keener, more well-versed ears out there in regards to the rabid, riffy and groovy nature of 'Bon Voyage'. Yet the dynamic, alternative rock sounds that creep in keep you right on your toes. Add in harsh touches of screeching guitar feedback early on, a few "experimental" vibes and sparser dynamics later into the piece, as well as a lyrical depiction of building new foundations and saying goodbye to anxious, negative head spaces in order to better oneself ("Calm and collected, that’s my new wave/Careening through the pines like blue jays"), 'Bon Voyage' is a real winner. It's one of those great tracks that twists and turns so sharply over its three-and-a-half minutes that you start wondering "fuck me, how did we even get here?", but the by the end, you're on board with it.

Well, hopefully, you'll be about it. There's only really one way to find out:

And then there's the group's most recent drop, 'Lifeboat'. With one of the thickest, sludgiest riffs of the year that'd make most stoner/doom bands green with envy, this song launches right off into one the grooviest hardcore sections you'll hear this side of a Keith and Jordan Buckley-led breakdown. The guitars squeal and leap out in quick succession, all tinged with a Southern vibe and the kind of jagged, disjointed madness that eventually folds back onto itself for full impact. Yet just like the sonic shapings of 'Bon Voyage', the darker, more melodious final third is a far cry from how this particular song once began two minutes earlier; as the band's vicious jaws open and you're finally set free. Which is what's so great about 'Lifeboat': just when you think you've got The Threats all figured out, they switch up their tonal shades on your ass and you're suddenly standing in a whole new area code.

Whatever these dudes have cooking up for the rest of 2018, I want in NOW.