When the cello starts cutting against bass this thick and drums this heavy, I go into full meerkat-alert position. Ears up, watching. On “No Comply“, the new Baratro album out May 8 via Supernatural Cat, that tension hits right after the quick opener “Dawn” and lands inside the first full track, “Hold Fast“.

Somewhere between noise rock, sludge and post-hardcore. Dark, serious, but I’m in. From there it only gets better. And whatever the cover art might suggest at a glance, this is not a skate punk record. Believe me...