An unexpected but certainly not unwelcome vinyl reissue of an album otherwise confined to the hinterlands of Dischord history: the sole LP from plucky post-hardcore upstarts Corm.
If you know them at all it might be from the split they shared with the increasingly-forgotten Braid or as the bulb from which sprouted Q & Not U, but the band are worthy of consideration beyond these footnotes. After a disarmingly pretty intro things kick off in sharp, snappy fashion: elasticated riffs, jittery rhythms and strained yells that sound like they’re sticky with a mix of syrup and stomach juice.
Mathy post-hardcore is the general order of the day, though the band also nod towards 90s emo (think: a melted-down amalgam of the Rye Coalition / Max Colby split) and Quarterstick-ish post-rock as the album unfolds. To me, the overriding comparison seems to be Circus Lupus, though ‘Ten Thousand Leagues’ gives off a whiff of Nirvana and the dissonant slip ‘n’ slide of ‘Though I Speak In The Tongue Of Men And Angels’ initially suggests a less glowering Hoover.
Despite nearly thirty years passing since it was first released, everything sounds crisp, fresh and vital: the energy hasn’t been dampened a jot, and the hooks remain glinting, sharp and ready to embed themselves in the brains of fans new and old alike.