Contention have released Nuclear Summer through DAZE. The Tampa straight-edge band first sold physical copies as a surprise at Sound and Fury, then released the three-track EP to everyone on 21 August. It runs for six minutes and forty-seven seconds.
Second Sun and Blank Stare hit first
Second Sun starts with a fast metallic riff before dropping into the heavy rhythms familiar from Artillery From Heaven. Blank Stare slows things down a little, running close to three minutes without losing that weight.
The songs deal with war, political power and people becoming numb to what's happening around them. Contention get that anxiety across quickly, with very little breathing room.
Why The Swarm close the EP
The closing medley combines The Swarm's X On Our Knees X and Upside Your Head. Contention have named the late-1990s Canadian band as an influence since their first practice in 2019. It's a nice way to point listeners towards where some of this sound came from.
Two new songs and a tribute to an early influence. Nuclear Summer is a short follow-up to Artillery From Heaven, but there's no sense that it needs padding out.
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