New Politicians

The Big Takeover is pleased to premiere the captivating The Cure -like lead single “Disarmer.” The dynamically romping, yet still moody tune harks back to touchstone bands like Interpol for its angular post-punk sonics, vivid lyrics, and emotionally enigmatic vocal tone and The Cure for its mellifluous and glistening guitar flow. - Big Takeover Exclusives

NEW POLITICIANS (Centerville, New Jersey)

Instantly taking up residence in the marrow of our being here at SEM, this quartet that sounds like we always wish Interpol would have, was also instantly filed under the heading “Where the hell did these guys come from?” The short answer is Centerville, of course, but we’re not even sure where the hell that is. Whatever (and Google maps be damned; we prefer to believe that this ‘Centerville’ is nothing but a front and that they’re actually from some lost London enclave circa 1980), we’re just resolutely pleased they landed on our radar. - Stereo Embers

Influences abound aplenty on this new EP called ‘Remission’ from New Jersey post-punk alt rock 4 piece band New Politicians. Darkness and dusk are the order of the day as songs like ‘Images’ shock the listener with stark, violent and visceral venom.

This sense of foreboding is a very difficult sound to pull off. Bands such as Joy Division and Nirvana are past masters of this sinister type of soundtrack and provide a wonderful standard for others to follow. New Politicians really embrace and expand upon this template with vocalist Renal Anthony spewing forth lines like these on the track ‘Been in the Wars’ :–

“Love is a war we wage. Filled with words we hate”

This is the sort of music that I have loved all of my life, being indoctrinated from a very early age to the skill, mastery, talent and genius of bands like the Smiths and the Cure, so perhaps my opinions are somewhat skewed on the subject matter. Perfection is not a necessity for this genre and difference is something to be envied, not sneered at. After listening to this album once I was already impressed and awaited repeat plays with relish.

This can only be a positive sign for future endeavours from these US alternative rockers and who knows where they could end up if they receive adequate support from an established record label.
The future looks bright for the members of the band. Gian Cortese on guitar and keyboards, his brother Renal Anthony on vocals and guitar with drummer Erik Watson and Winston Mitlo on bass. They’ve just got a new twitter fan in me and I can definitely see a huge potential market for them to become real behemoths of the post-punk rock era. - Pure M Magazine

One of the bands cited in our most recent NEXT list, this Centerville, NJ-based quartet traffic in a powerful, yearningly sonorous brand of post-punk that will be familiar and most welcome to fans of Interpol or Barcelona’s October People. Blessed with a sort of sweeping dark grace, your typical New Politicians track presents with crisp outlines, an innate talent for arrangements that weave together melody and fierce dynamics like they’re post-punk Siamese twins, and a rather questing sense of purpose that’s rousing enough to mark out each individual track as momentous in itself but real and grounded enough to prevent the whole from lapsing into a Coldplayed portentiousness. To some extent this is down to a singer/guitarist – Renal Anthony – that brings a sufficient but nuanced degree of gravitas to his vocal, able to dial it back when called for as on “Killer on the Mend,” dreamy in a glistening shadow kind of way, or bring a more desperate, charged insistence to the mix as on band-defining opener “Revelator” (or a bit of both, as needed for the near seven-minute, semi-epic title track). Boosted by a gifted and yeoman-like rhythm section (Winston Mitlo bass, Erik Watson drums) and adroitly enhanced by the chromatically expert guitar work of Gian Cortese (who also supplies key keyboard accents), the seven songs on Remission carry themselves with a certain amount of dichotomous panache, an intrinsic confidence coursing through them that allows for the atmospheres within to be grim but somehow still shining, serrated but emotive.

So SO many terrific bands emerging from the shadows these days, striding into the moonlight from all corners, including, it turns out, the center of New Jersey. Not to be too editorial, but there aren’t too many old politicians from the Garden State you may want to concern yourself with these days. But New Politicians? Totally different story. We here at SEM hope to see them out on their own campaign trail soon. - Stereo Embers

Starting out as a two piece with brothers Gian Cortese and Renal Anthony back in 2012, New Politicians has since added two more members and released a new EP titled Remission. As I listen through I find it hard to believe that this New Jersey quartet have yet to be snatched up by a label. Upon giving the album a quick listen to see if it was something I wanted to review, I was instantly reminded of Interpol and couldn’t help but get swept up in the seven tracks featured on the EP. The fact that I was unable to just listen to a snippet of one song should speak to the pull that New Politicians are capable of.

Album opener “Relevator” introduces the dark yet elegant sound of New Politicians. The track is a great album opener with its driving guitar riffs and beat that create a feeling of restlessness as it pushes along call to mind one of my favorite Post-rock acts, Editors. Brooding guitars with a meandering bass line carry “Cut a Hole” under bleak lyrics. “So you cut a hole too deep / Deep as the river that runs through the veins, she said to you,” Renal speaks over the chorus. I can’t help but be drawn to this track and play it at least one more time before allowing the next song to play.

“Been in the Wars” is the most upbeat track thus far, with shimmering guitars and dream pop flourishes. It’s another song I can’t help but listen to one repeat a few times. The foursome takes things back down a bit with slow burner “Images.” The dark, foreboding guitars and vocals over the regimental drums create the perfect moody track to carry you through the middle of Remission.

Another slow burner, “Killer on the Mend” feels almost cinematic. With it’s shoegaze, reverbed guitars and droning voclas, the listener can’t help but be immersed in the moody, dream world that New Politicians craft so seemingly effortlessly. The title track continues to hypnotize with layered guitars, feverishly building throughout it’s nearly seven minutes but never fully releasing thus putting the listener on edge when it finally fizzles out. New Politicians know how to structure a song both lyrically and musically and you can really hear that on album closer, “The Idealist.” The musical landscape is vast and intricate and you’ll find yourself reaching the end of the track left wanting more.

New Politicians are not only comfortable in their music but confident. Each note, each lyric is perfectly placed to help create a dream pop / shoegaze / post punk world that is clear from the very first notes of Remission. And even with such a strong set of songs, you can tell that the band is not done growing which means there’s still something for them to aspire to. Remission leaves a lasting impression that will haunt you long after the final note plays.

Remission is available for purchase on Amazon, Bandcamp, and iTunes. - Under Bright Lights

Today, we are extremely happy to unveil our 30 favourite songs of the year so far. As we did with the best records /EPs list, the tunes are listed in alphabetic order, taking in mind two rules: they have been released during 2015, and just one song per group (a really hard decision in some cases). We encourage you to enjoy the complete playlist in our soundcloud page! And to check our 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 selections!

Actual Alien - American Culture
Ahora que hace bueno- Reina Republicana
Back to You- Twerps
Been in the Wars- New Politicians
Can’t You Feel - Bruising
Chateau Lobby #4- Father John Misty
Continental Shelf- Viet Cong
Courage- Villagers
Creep Me Out- Ghost Transmission
Depreston- Courtney Barnett
Desencuentros- The New Raemon
Fool- Nadine Shah
Hold You Down - Love Signs
Hollow Veins- Surf City
I Wanna Be a Writer - Etti / Etta
Let You Know- The Fireworks
Made my mind up- Mikal Cronin
O- Desperate Journalist
Running Late- Flyying Colours
Scene Sick- Diet Cig
Should Have Known Better- Sufjan Stevens
Sleeping in the Backseat- Tigercats
Surface Envy- Sleater-Kinney
Stars- The Treasures of Mexico
Swept Away- Star Tropics
Tearing the posters down- Dick Diver
The House- Le Volume Courbe
The Legend of Chavo Guerrero- The Mountain Goats
Umi - Pinkshinyultrablast
Young Girls- PINS - Bloodbuzzed