Skull Practitioners

Death By EP

scum stats: I don’t think they made many of these. I might be lying if I said 200 copies, but I swear I thought I heard that

Rule one of the rock and roll underground: always trust Larry Hardy

Larry and his impeccable imprint In the Red Records have guided me for more than half my life. My single most favorite record label outside of the ones I’ve directly worked for? Yeah, probably.

And although Larry is almost twenty years my senior, he STILL continually digs up the new, unheard, cool shit that I have no idea where in the hell it’s springing from…and it’s my job to kinda know these things.

And Skull Practitioners is no different. This NYC trio features Jason Victor, who is the guitarist in the current iteration of the Dream Syndicate. If that doesn’t inform you enough, the songs are fuzzy, heavy psychedelic explorations into the vantablack abyss.

Side B “Miami” is a side-long exercise in frustratingly great restraint. Lyricless, atmospheric, comforting in its tensions. And a SPLENDID locked-groove to boot. A-side is alright, but I can see myself playing “Miami” on repeat for hours. The song feels…imperative.

No one’s reinventing the wheel here, but I’ll be goddamned if we don’t need more of this in the world today. Gems like this are harder and harder to find these days, and that’s what makes them so sweet when Larry Hardy just drops one on your doorstep.