“Fusing the grotty, fuzz-fuelled guitars and loose rhythms of acts like Dinosaur Jr. to the energetic and experimental soundscapes of artists such as Sonic Youth and Ween, Koalra are an emerging noise punk band hailing from Chicago.
The 90’s influenced four-piece released their self-titled album in December of 2019. The eight track debut is a noise-fest of uplifting, yet thrashing guitar tracks and drearily sincere, grungy vocal melodies. From the soaring, euphoric breakdowns of stand-out alt anthems like “Dark Days” to the savagely, fierce energy of songs like “Black Nightmare” and “Sprung”, Koalra cover a lot of ground in the genres of punk, indie and noise pop.
Rising out of a garage music project in their hometown, the band is comprised of four friends who are all influenced by similar bands such as Boyracer, The Thermals, The Cure, Dinosaur Jr., No Age and Wavves.
In early 2020 Koalra released their followup EP titled “Surprise Lights” with the surfy sun soaked anthem “Dear Daylight” which publication Doubtful Sounds says “hollers and sings with a beautiful melancholic angst.”
Koalra are currently releasing singles from their second full length called The Wakes. “
This bio is old (from 2020 I suppose), but still gives a nice introduction to the band.
I am usually not a huge fan of songs that have a little bit of repetitive melody, but this one, which has a little bit of slowcore or post-punk vibes, and heavier bass in the background was getting me so much. I love how the energy builds up towards the end of the song and somehow it goes well with my Fall/Winter heavier mood when evenings are long and energy is lower.
There is one more track up from this album called Disasterclass – the same as the upcoming album.
It has been with a little bit more drive, and a fast-paced melody, but once again has great energy coming from the guitar parts. Both tracks have really great sounding drums and I love how they are recorded. I am looking forward to the full album which will bring a lot of good old 90s indie rock vibes. The album should be out just before Christmas.
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