The members of the Atlanta band Slow Fire Pistol come from the world of hardcore, and they’ve played in extremely tough bands like Foundation and Criminal Instinct. Slow Fire Pistol don’t sound like any of those bands. Instead, with Slow Fire Pistol, those musicians attack the chaotic, self-lacerating sound of late-’90s screamo — a sound that was always adjacent to hardcore but that ultimately became its own thing. Slow Fire Pistol are really good at it.

Slow Fire Pistol started releasing music in 2016, and their last EP was the 2019 10″ Love Riddled With Conditions. Last year, Slow Fire Pistol and Portrayal Of Guilt released a split 7″, and that shit ruled. Today, Slow Fire Pistol have come out with a new 12″ EP called Rabbit Town Blues, and it rips.

In Rabbit Town Blues, you can hear plenty of connection to hardcore, but this is also sincere, wounded music. The guitars scratch and jangle and caterwaul, and the whole thing often sounds perilously close to falling apart. The band will also lock into an ominous groove for an extended period of time; “Exit 24,” the massive centerpiece of Rabbit Town Blues, is six minutes long. The EP is some powerful stuff, and you can hear it below.

The Rabbit Town Blues EP is out now on Triple B Records.