Calyx and punk post punches of "Noseeums" from their debut album "Stay Gone"

"mosquito nest, mosquito heart, I'm thirsty for blood"

Calyx based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania just released their debut album "Stay Gone" and it is quite simply bad ass. Now, I am supposed to be a somewhat erudite, articulate music writer and usually don't resort to such scabrous and cliché terms but, it is overall fucking badass. There are passages of sound (like within "Money Blood" that from an alternative rock point of view sounds like an orchestra playing while falling down a flight of stairs) or the spirit crushing "Americana Get A Break" when the pounding feels like a rabid hoard of bill collectors trying to knock down your front door ("pops was a sailor, man, so what did you expect? didn't quit the sea till his body got wrecked") or the punk snarkiness of "Kill Grill", "throw yourself out of bed 5:30's such a feat, isn't it? congratulations you're meeting expectations" that feels like a virulent school play featuring the 'older reliable sister' and the 'crazy brother who yells at people at the liquor store' or the quite romantic head banger "Entropical" that actually takes a breath, "ancient aches from slight bruising from reckless romantics and head wounds and lust", (at least for a moment). The songs on "Stay Gone" feel bruised and battered, full of rage and fury and moments of deep reflection and Calyx (musically) curses, spits, swings and punches even while the 7 foot bouncer is carrying them out of the bar.

Let's talk about their last track, "Noseeums", which, as hard as it pounds and rocks might be the most accessible sort of mainstream track on the album. At times it is very constrained, contained and controlled and at other times it feels like this glorious Calyx-esque mayhem. In some ways (to me) it feels like an amalgam of Metz, Gospel, Paramore, Lifetime, Speedy Ortiz and Charles Bukowski and in some ways not. Calyx is hard to compare to other outfits and that is a good thing. Within Calyx's sound you will feel punk, you will feel alternative rock painted with layers of prog rock, screamo and emo (to a lesser degree) and finally you will hear jamming snaking around musical narratives and lyrics that punch and cajole too. The songs just don't jam and rock, there is emotional weight behind the ballistic drum rolls and heavy feral felling synchronicity. Calyx is a great find and I hope you check their debut out soon.

-Robb Donker Curtius

* * *

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:


https://www.facebook.com/calyxpgh

https://calyxpgh.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/calyx_excellent


Calyx is a complex chemical bond that is very powerful when it's rockin its intended purpose, but unstable in certain environments.


"Calyx’s debut full-length Stay Gone is an explosive revelation, its dynamic rock sound serving as a platform for thoughtful musings on human connection, a sense of place, existing in the turbulent world we live in. The Pittsburgh-based trio has been writing its unique style of indie-punk rock for years, and Stay Gone is a well-rounded collection of all the things that make Calyx so special.

Calyx makes music that is beautiful, gritty, honest and earnest. It is philosophical and existential in an accessible way that creates space for the kind of unique and genuine connection so few bands are able to make with listeners." - Gem Fair

Calyx, post punk, punk, indie rock, alternative rock, blendo rock, progressive tendencies, slight scream, slight emo, Pittsburgh, heartfelt rock, debut album "Stay Gone",