Firebranded avant-garde post-punk swagger surges through Roaches, All the Way Up’s standout release –

Roaches, All the Way Up are primed to rip through the alt-punk threshold with Roaches, the standout cut from their debut LP, KILL BUGS DEAD, arriving February 20th. The Boston gutterblazers set out to pierce the veil of punk on their own terms, and in this track, they channel the cacophonous fervour of post-hardcore while wrapping it around organic avant-garde motifs.

From the moment the first percussive hit lands, their sound sprawls with hedonistically reckless abandon, letting their sound writhe within their authenticity. The firebranded vocal aesthetic is teasingly ensnaring, playful in the unfuckwithably accessible Kathleen-Hanna way, while the tumultuous rolls of percussive time signatures are wild enough to leave Tool perplexed. It’s a feral introduction that makes their mission unmistakable.

As the chaos sharpens into form, the five friends at the core of RATWU show how naturally they slip into unfiltered expression. Their guitars scrape through oddball theatrics, their rhythmic shifts twist on instinct, and their whole presence feels born from the backrooms and basements that shaped them. The new-wave tinges and post-hardcore bite sit together in a shape that feels self-made rather than borrowed, giving Roaches a boldness that hints at a band intent on building something unruly from the ground up.

The LP was three years in the making, stitched together by a group who treat experimentation as second nature, and this single barely scratches the surface of what they’re gearing up to hurl into the world.

Connect with Roaches, All the Way Up via Instagram and stay tuned for news of their album drop.

Review by Amelia Vandergast