Exclusive Track Premiere: ‘Apple Hill,’ So Stressed

ABOVE: SO STRESSED. PHOTO COURTESY OF IGNAT FREGE

The anxiety ridden, frenetic, and tense vocals of Sacramento-based, post-hardcore three-piece So Stressed and the accompanying metal-like instrumentals are not advised for the faint-hearted. On the band’s second single, “Apple Hill,” which we are exclusively streaming below, there is an explosion of guitar riffs and frenzied drumming. However, beneath the initial delight-in-destruction are poignantly relatable lyrics, sung by frontman Morgan Fox, that touch on themes of emotional anguish and social reservation (“A single trip I saw more / I fell asleep on the floor / A pleasing gift to myself / A pleasing gift”).

Fox, along with bandmates Andrew Garcia and Kenneth Draper, spent more than two years writing the band’s forthcoming debut album The Unlawful Trade of Greco-Roman Art, which also happens to be the first record that will be released via Perfect Pussy’s Meredith Graves’ newly formed label, Honor Press. “It’s the first song we wrote for this record,” Fox explains. “That means that it’s kind of old—we wrote it in a smelly house in the middle of a very hot summer—but it’s still one of our very favorites because it’s so fun to play.”

THE UNLAWFUL TRADE OF GRECO-ROMAN ART WILL BE RELEASED ON MAY 26. FOR MORE ON THE BAND, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE.