Few acts live up to the promise of their band name as much as Hardcore Sex. The lusty duo play a stripped down, erotically charged blues that makes you imagine an orgy planned by The Cramps and The Kills until you’re too turned on to continue that metaphor any further and are forced to find a private little spot to relieve yourself. If you’ve seen the pair’s live show, you know all about what a sweat drenched, libidinous affair their sound is, but on their debut EP You Greasy Devil, Bear Ryan and Brian Johnson move past the heavy petting foreplay of their demos and firmly into the realm of marathon aural pleasure.
From the start, Hardcore Sex have been defined by a rawness, of spirit, of sound, of construction, but Drew Millay’s expert mixing fulfils the promise of that rawness, pushing Ryan’s vocals so far through the red the grit hits your ear like a roving tongue. Johnson’s howling guitar style gives the EP ample kick, wrestling with the vocals for space and tone, all while Ryan keeps up her insistent, minimal beats, exploding where needed, dialing back to a murmur and a moan more often. “Sister” even makes the creak of Ryan’s drumkit a signature train, carving up misleading calm and open terrain before she starts detailing her plan to seduce a pair of siblings and work her way through the family. “Tiger Meat,” by contrast, is a full on holler, immediately packing a punch as Ryan screams her desires, until the afterglow comes and everything descends into the rise and fall of a hyperventilating body. All of the lo-fi intensity of the band’s early self-produced demos are still there, but you can really feel the presence Millay’s booming mastering brings, particularly on the rough sex classic “Down My Throat.”
You can preorder the EP at Hardcore Sex’s Bandcamp, but in the meantime, enjoy this exclusive stream of the EP and be sure to catch the band’s release party at Hard Luck Lounge on Thursday, November 17th with Little Father!