No. Fuck that. We’re not doing this again. Eight years ago, I repeatedly succumbed to the temptation to treat every raw, noisy hardcore punk song as a reflection of an apocalyptic mentality, a mirror for whatever was going on in my own myopic post-election soul. I’m off that. Instead, I will merely note that the feral, frantic Bay Area basement-punk greats Spy dropped a new single last night, as election results rolled in. If you want to stamp any larger significance on it, that’s on you.

Spy emerged during the pandemic with a sound that went absolutely over-the-top in its fast, punishing intensity. Last year, Spy released their commendably disgusting full-length debut Satisfaction, and members of the band are also in the new Bay Area supergroup Fentanyl. Spy’s new one-off single “On The Brink” is their first new music since Satisfaction. It’s a growling, spitting, noise-infused stomper, and it sounds like being chased by a massive mob of sewer rats. Listen below.

If you happen to be in the mood for more music that lands in that same general zone, there’s a new split 7″ from two European punk bands, Swedish crust veterans Warcollapse and Czech D-beat destroyers Fear Of Extinction, that should do the trick. Here’s that one:

“On The Brink” is out now on Closed Casket Activities. The Warcollapse/Fear Of Extinction split is out now on Phobia.