Requiescat Record [LP]

New Brutalism - Requiescat Record [LP]

Requiescat Record is the new album by New Brutalism, a minimal rock quartet formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1998. The band comprises vocalist Shane Elliott, guitarist/vocalist Matt Hall, bassist/vocalist David Basford, and drummer Carey Balch. The three-track release -- "088," "087" and "089," in keeping with their strict numerical naming convention -- was recorded in 2021 by the late, great Steve Albini at Electrical Audio, and mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service in 2025. For the band, "less is more" became a guiding principle -- channeled through an unwaveringly raw, direct, and honest approach to sound. Out of partly sound, partly aesthetic, mainly a thirst to build, New Brutalism performs on aluminum instruments built by the band members. They chose the material because it's lighter than steel, more consistent than wood, and easy to machine. Above all, it's precise -- and thereby, can produce precise music. In 2021, New Brutalism entered Electrical Audio to record Requiescat Record. Named after a Latin term meaning a prayer for the repose of a dead person, Requiescat Record retroactively became a dedication to Albiniʼs memory. The band acknowledges that so much of the aesthetic, interests and sounds they admired are a product of his influence and the circle of artists around him. His death instigated a state of urgency. A desire to act became more pressing, to strike more often, and usher in a new era of productivity. Shattered and kinetic, forged by time and tragedy, with god-given sonic quality, Requiescat Record may acknowledge the dead, but this music feels ever so alive. A1. 088 _x000D_ A2. 087 _x000D_ A3. 089 _x000D_ B4. 088_x000D_ B5. 087_x000D_ B6. 089