We love ourselves a good “local super group” here at Milwaukee Record. Similar to when owners of a beloved bar or restaurant open a new establishment, learning a new area music project features members from a handful of other acts you’ve enjoyed through the years is always exciting (and oftentimes results in the new band being great in their own right, if not even better than their predecessors). The latest Milwaukee super group we’ve encountered is FORM, a brand new project that released its debut EP this morning.
The Milwaukee hardcore outfit features members of the dearly departed Mud Dog, as well as guys from acclaimed active bands like Telethon, Versio Curs, and Brave You. Despite the disparate sonic landing points of the band’s associated acts, FORM’s first release, Overworld, is instrumentally airtight and lyrically direct. Not a word is minced, nor is a second wasted as the quartet unleashes five songs worth of pummeling musicianship and brash vocals within a 10-minute window that’s all killer and not filler.
“With these songs, the goal was to take the aggressive energy from hardcore and point the finger inward lyrically and try to cover some ground not as common to the genre,” FORM’s primary songwriter Alex Hardy says. “While the tone comes off as angry on the surface level, the message is positive. These songs are about things like acceptance, hope, humility, responsibility, and self actualization.”
You can hear FORM perform songs from Overworld for the first time publicly when the band makes its live debut at Cactus Club on Friday, January 5. Until then, you should check out the new EP and say hello to Milwaukee’s newest super group.
