David M Rangel / April 22, 2026 / Reviews
It’s a refreshing and welcome endeavor when a modern band puts out a record that harkens back to older, foundational sounds. Especially those sounds which were integral in shaping much of what music has become today. Punk, hardcore and in the case of Stunt Drummer, post-hardcore, played major roles in the evolution of a sound favored by listeners who wanted to get off the beaten path of mainstream music and break boundaries. Though those sounds may be in a different ballpark from the practically endless amount of offshoots of today’s indie rock, they must be credited for their important place in history and where we are now. While punk and hardcore ripped conventional music down to the bare bones basics, post hardcore expanded upon that and started to incorporate odd time signatures, metal, and jazz elements. This resulted in an atmosphere that is as much cerebral as it is raw, rebellious energy.
On warm up, tiger, Stunt Drummer’s sophomore release, the band proudly wear their influences on their sleeves, bringing a time tested sound to 2026, with a modern day sense of energetic rejuvenation. The urgency of bands like Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt and the Jesus Lizard are all there, colliding with a cool, controlled cacophony with master’s degree levels of free form punk à la Saccharine Trust, The Minutemen and my own home town heroes, Die Kreuzen. There is a sense of wisdom and authenticity that Stunt Drummer have in their delivery due to the fact that these four introspective cats were actually there and involved with this kind of sound, in its early salad days. The soundscapes that are painted can at times reflect the damp, dark forests of their Pacific Northwest home base, creeping along eerily, coming just short of being unhinged. And at other times, their power chords can create a cloying, yet hypnotic sludge that exudes the power and exhilaration felt when listening to so many 80s era LA punk bands (TSOL, anyone?). The band seems to have a a finger placed perfectly on the pulse that exists somewhere between the ravenous joy of youth and the developed sense of age and experience.
“Pool” is the first track that comes screaming out with a guitar riff that sounds as if it’s warning the listener of a nuclear power assault. An in your face bass makes its way in to the mix, compelling the swirling power to chaotic levels. The song is alarming yet mesmerizing. It could fittingly be the soundtrack of a skateboarder catching high, precise air off a half pipe. As the mood gets more pulsating and intense, so too does the skateboarder. It’s an appropriate banger of an opener, to be sure.
What contributed to the minimalist appeal of punk music was the often everyday, mundane subject matter of the songs. This record jumps around and sings about random subjects ranging from the common components found in a room, having a friend who grows fruit for a living and another acquaintance whose expertise lies in the architecture of windows. All of this is done with the passion and conviction of people who are playing for their lives to get into their own version of heaven. “Chinese Windows” focuses on Peter, an expert on windows, and its rolling distorted guitar sound brings to mind a sound made famous by Mike Ness of Social Distortion. It’s possibly tuneful enough for mainstream radio, but retains the edge of being “non-cookie cutter“. “Paul The Pear Farmer” is a strange work whose lyrics border on the absurd, all while the music is one of the most prime examples of the band’s “chaos in the creation“. The start of the song is led by a sinister sounding surf guitar, which develops into a schizophrenic mashup, before abruptly ending. It gives off a Butthole Surfers vibe and is as fun as it is messy and turbulent.
A stand out tune for many may be the anomalous “Voodoo”. The slow tension building of a song that is appropriately “witchy” in its spooky delivery and subject matter of witches and the torturous methods to expose them is the slowest burn on the record, and worth the wait. The track rolls slowly like a spirit possessed. inching its way toward a loud and abominable guitar-laden death. The track reeks of forbidden places, vaguely evoked nightmares and is arguably, the most mood setting track on the record.
Stunt Drummer are clearly musical veterans who know what they’re doing. The disparate feel and influences that come across on this record will likely appeal to a diverse array of people who dwell in many different musical camps. The sense of familiarity, along with the here and now that will attract new listeners, bleeds through in multiple ways on this album that clearly avoids the sophomore slump.
The album is out now on Cavity Search Records. Hear it here:
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