JORDAN BUDD
Staff Writer
Relentless Moisture’s Instagram bio reads, “Fredonia’s favorite experimental post-penis music psychedelic moistcore band.”
What that means is entirely up for debate.
Since the release of their debut EP on Aug. 1, you can decide for yourself by listening to “Sniffe the Apothecary.”
Songs on this project have been in the works since the band’s inception in fall 2022. The four-piece consists of Jack Britt (bass), Joe Wiegel (vocals and guitar), Gordon Hall (vocals and guitar), and Andrew Springer (drums).
Since they first became a band, the “moistcore” group has steadily built a passionate fanbase in Fredonia, playing numerous shows both on and off campus.
Fan of the band Ian Shannon said, “They’re probably the heaviest band in Fredonia currently and I think they’ve carved out a really cool grungy niche for themselves.”
Blaise Przybyla, vocalist and guitarist for BP & the Oil Spills as well as owner of Buffalo-based booking company, Gulf of Mexico Productions, has worked with Relentless Moisture on many occasions.
Pryzbyla said, “The first time I booked them, they played to a sell out crowd at Stamps, and they had complete control of the audience. Maybe 30% of the people were there for them specifically, but you could tell everyone else was absolutely invested in their performance… pretty much every single person in that venue was glued to what was happening on stage, including myself. It’s really impressive to be so talented that you can make people pay attention to you, and that’s Relentless Moisture.”
Both Shannon and Pryzbyla consider the new music to be a good representation of their live shows.
Shannon said, “They come off as tight and punchy and the energy is still there.”
“I think what stands out the most to me about the EP is how impressive what they’re doing [musically] is and as songwriters, and how little ‘studio magic’ I can detect in the recordings… I can’t hear more than two guitars on the recordings or more than two vocal parts, but they make it sound just as full as bands that stack guitar and vocals endlessly,” Pryzbyla said. “That’s a testament to how meticulously they wrote their songs, but they don’t use it to just shove noise in your face; there’s a good balance between the heavy parts and face-melting solos and the quieter, more reserved parts.”
On their debut EP, the inventive rock group blended styles ranging from heavy-hitting nu-metal to progressive art rock. They characterize these many sounds with a psychedelic cover art they refer to as “migraine-inducing.” The lyrics focus on fantastical stories featuring kings, gremlins and magicians, alike.
Pryzbyla said, “On Twitter, I essentially compared them to Jethro Tull if they knew what metalcore was…with the slightly goofy medieval-themed lyrics, and just the song construction in general, and I stick by that.”
With these songs, Relentless Moisture aims to stay away from reality, writing tunes that are entirely based in fiction.
When naming the project, the group ran through a bunch of whimsical hilarities. There was “Courting the Gorgon,” “Appalachian Orgy,” “Follicular Squashbuckle” and “Prophesizing Dongles,” before they landed on the winner, “Sniffe the Apothecary.”
The acute, archaic-like spelling of ‘Sniffe’ is just one piece of the peculiar world that Relentless Moisture invites their listeners into.
Wiegel said that the EP’s intro track, “‘Goblet of Piss,’ was the first song [he] ever wrote explicitly for Moisture.”
Fiery group vocals on this song can be compared to the band’s avid fan base and local community behind them. A gaggle of Fredonia friends scream and sneer their way through the chorus.
Hall said, “We all piled into Studio C upstairs on the third floor, and we literally just called pretty much everyone. Yeah, everyone that was available.”
Wiegel added that they even picked up people on the way, saying “Hey, do you wanna come to the studio like right now?”
Don’t worry, everyone’s being paid appropriately for their efforts. Hall said jokingly, “They make 0.0000001 of every 0.002 we make.”
A positive reaction and endorsement from the local music scene since their release has been key for the band. Wiegel said, “[It] was really affirming that everything we’ve been working towards is something that people want to hear.”
There was no comment from Hall, but the room seemed to fill with warmth as they just shook their head and smiled, surrounded by poster-cladded walls of classic rock bands in their house.
Wiegel’s experience with performing for an audience has developed over time. In high school, he played to entirely indifferent audiences, usually a few of his friends begrudgingly smiling along.
Nowadays, him and the fellow Moisture musicians have got excited audiences that will even mosh to the complex ⅞ time signature in their song “Magician.”
The group is willing to experiment with their sound and leave things open-ended. Driven by their compulsion to make music, for the members, Relentless Moisture can be anything, and it’s the ultimate form of expression for them.
Hall’s personal favorite, the final song, “Sir Pimpin,” is a dynamic ear-grabber that combines heavy-hitting verses with a brighter chorus.
The group said that conceptually, “Sir Pimpin” comes before “Goblet of Piss,” but they decided to release it in this order instead.
In the future, they hope to release a bigger, more conceptual project that includes these songs as well as some more intricate ones.
Shannon said, “I think they’re great songwriters and musicians and I would love to see what a full release would look like.”
Outside of a potential album on the horizon, the group has a couple other plans up their sleeve.
A cassette release of “Sniffe the Apothecary” is on the way with Merch Gremlin Records, a new imprint run by Fredonia alumni, Alex Erwin.
Furthermore, audiences will get a chance to see the band play at The Local Lo-Down Concert on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Main Street Studios. The group will play alongside Del Paxton and The Weather Might Say Otherwise.