Spectreview: Self Defense Family – Performative Guilt

-ELECTRIC INDIGO-

“Can’t offer much advice if you’ve got a Jill in your life
Let’s just go quiet and offer a moment to silly dead girls”

Self Defense Family are the kind of band that inspire their own mythology. That’s a trick that’s nigh-impossible to do in today’s always-on social climate, but the band (once known as End of a Year) make it work by purposefully obfuscating the circumstances behind their creative process. The band’s Wikipedia lists almost twenty current members, they manage to release almost three EPs a year, and between those releases their sound constantly shifts between underground rock’s many subgenres. Since their rebranding, the band, always grounded in post-punk, has steadily morphed from an art-focused emo/hardcore to a more nuanced alt/indie, and their newest EP, Performative Guilt, sees them leaning even more into art rock territory. Vocalist Patrick Kindlon, once a barker in the same vein as Protomartyr’s Joe Casey or IDLES’s Joe Talbot, retreats far into the mix, and it’s an effective way to let the music speak its own language in grief. Stormy opener “Rest In Peace for the Error Shall Not Be Repeated” recalls 21st century Sonic Youth, while the MBV-cribbing “Future Girls” strikes a balance between youthful anxiety and wistfulness. Throughout Kindlon speaks of the circumstances surrounding a friend’s death and of regret for his inaction, an example of empathy through the lens by punk. It comes across well, though a lack of specificity keeps his words from hitting with as much effect as perhaps intended. Even if it’s yet another release on the pile, Performative Guilt is an excellent jumping-off point into the band’s formidable yet impressive discography.

Recommended for silent solo drives months after the candlelight vigil.