Sheer Mag: "Button Up"

Sheer Mag‘s name is short for “Sheer Magnitude”, but brute strength isn’t exactly their thing. Sure, there was plenty of muscle-flexing on last fall’s sucker-punch of a debut EP, particularly in the surly single “What You Want”. And yet, despite their open worship of bands like Thin Lizzy and the Runaways, these Philadelphia upstarts are actually sentimentalists at heart, though not in the ways you’d expect. Their reverence for scuzzier times is rooted in tradition: crackling, chicken-wire guitars, jams truncated by fade-outs, and of course, an unwavering allegiance to the key of G Major. In most bands’ hands, such a blueprint could become a crutch, but Sheer Mag make the allusions work for them, tethering their infectious punk melodies to a broader energy powered by association. Or really, fun.

“Button Up”, from their new 7″, is a glimpse into an alternate reality in which grunge’s depressive angst proved unsuccessful in its conquest of hard rock, where giddiness takes the place of gloom and drop-D guitars are an exotic species. Crisp and cramped as the mix may sound, its instrumental components offer an array of distinct textures; sandpaper-rough, AC/DC-style power chords get paired with reverb-laden surf guitar for a sweet-and-sour style, grounded in the snare-intensive beat one picks up in the first month of drumming. Reminiscent without sounding redundant, lo-fi and yet layered, “Button Up” isn’t just another promising cut from Sheer Mag—it’s proof that they know how to temper their energy with outside touches and allusory savvy. Plus, they’d probably kick your ass in a bar fight.

Comments are closed.