Hardcore’s experiencing a tidal wave right now. Knocked Loose and Turnstile created golden viral moments by tearing rooms in half with their riffs, former NME Cover stars Militarie Gun are hanging out with Post Malone, and Scowl transformed last year’s Coachella into Scowlchella. Although California’s been particularly fertile ground for hardcore, the East Coast’s keeping pace with New Jersey’s Gel as one of their most notable torchbearers.
Fusing the visceral and the personal, their scabrous 2023 debut album ‘Only Constant’ was the blazing culmination of half a decade of DIY graft, clearing space for them in a saturated scene. Now, almost eighteen months on, they’ve got to make another move. If there’s any clear intention behind their new EP ‘Persona’, it’s making a statement of their individuality: filing their roughness down to an even sharper point.
Although ‘Persona’ is hardly the sound of a band that’s lost its claws, one of its most striking qualities is that it never feels like noise for noise’s sake. A shining example is opening track ‘Mirage’, a determined tirade against toxicity that burns both fast and slow when it needs to, but always brightly. “As if I’d treat myself with the malice you’d inflict/As if I’m only held back by the feeling of what you might think,” roars vocalist Sami Kaiser. It’s their longest song to date, but the extra minute tacked on to hardcore’s usual ultra-concise run time is never wasted.
The rest of the EP matches its energy – the thumping ‘Shame’ presents Gel at their cleanest, finding a way to feel both accessible and intense, while the gritty title track is a masterclass of battering ram savagery. However, the strongest track here might just be the one that’s the biggest outlier. Commencing with an almighty cry of “YEAAAAAHHH!”, ‘Vanity’ treads slowly and purposefully with a simmering ferocity, until a thrilling acceleration occurs – then sliding back into a slower pace with a cool, absolute sense of control.
Gel have a firmer grip on the steering wheel this time around; their savagery is nuanced but uncompromising, and they’ve grown into themselves with a great deal of grace. Take your eyes off them at your peril.
