“AEROSOL” Cover

We’ve gotten a few quick glimpses here and there of Camp Blood in the past few months: during Haasan Barclay‘s set back in December 2018 opening up for Bad Rabbits and STL GLD, a few weeks back at the Democracy Center, a recent live session with Allston Pudding. If you were in attendance or tuned in at all, then you’ll already be familiar with the intense, high-energy performance the crew comprised of Barclay, Shaka Dendy, and Matthew Thornton. The trio got together in 2018 and have been busy recording material to release under the new moniker. 

While their sound certainly takes some cues from hip-hop, that’s because the genre is such a versatile tool for diverse sonic expression and blending influence together to craft unique sounds. It’s probably better to think of Camp Blood as an industrial punk group that also happens to spit venomous rhymes over aggressive, noisy (yet still so cleanly produced) beats. Listening to “Aerosol,” the group’s debut single, it’s easy to think of other recent rap excursions into noisier, more industrial landscapes (Yeezus comes to mind).

However, one of the real strengths that Camp Blood has over potential contemporaries is the smooth, close-knit interplay between its members. Haasan Barclay sounds like we haven’t really heard him before, trading in his often catchy, dreamy songwriting for bars, trading the mic seamlessly with lyrical partner Shaka Dendy in a tag-team fashion. Underneath their combined lyrical onslaught, Matthew Thornton adds wailing lines of feedback and noise layered over a gut-punching drum beat. 

Photo by Georden West

But maybe genre classifications and contemporary comparisons are tired and obsolete. Maybe this track— and the handful of others that Camp Blood has performed during their sets— just friggin’ slaps, and why should we feel like we need to break it down anymore than that? It’s uptempo enough to get dancers going, but punk enough to pogo to; it’s noisy and in-your-face, yet the production isn’t overcrowded with excess noise. They’re taking a few ingredients and maximizing those elements to craft a thunderbolt of a banger that will pump some extra energy into any summer playlist. 

This track is NOT for the faint of heart; it goes hard, and should be played at very loud volumes, preferably in front of a crowd down to mosh and get a little wild. Stream “Aerosol” below via Bandcamp or on your streaming platform of choice, and keep an eye out for upcoming Camp Blood performances, including at the upcoming Boston Fuzzstival on June 14th and 15th. The EP comes out on July 5th via Disposable America. To borrow a line from the track, “Smell ya later.”