Drug Church – Hygiene (Recommendation)

Drug Church aren’t unknown to me, but to be honest this is the first album I really took the time to listen to them. I really like Self Defense Family so I guess it was just a matter of time till I also got into Drug Church. Consider this a review by a first time listener.

Hygiene is the fourth album by Post-Hardcore / Alternative outfit Drug Church. Round about four years after Cheer, Hygiene is here to take our hearts and minds. This album sounds like it was a perfect fit for those old Tony Hawk’s Pro Skateboarder video games: uptempo songs, Punk-attitude and catchy as everything. Take a song like “World Impact” and picture me skating Marseille-Skate-Park all day (virtually).

Upon the first moments I immediately got Floral-vibes (the awesome Title Fight album). My take is that Self Defense Family are far more story-telling-oriented while Drug Church use a more direct approach. Songs like “Fun’s over” or “Tiresome” are open invitations to the stage to join the band just to jump into the crowd again.

“Athlete on a Bench” is one of my favorites on this album. There is a kind of melancholy swinging in it like in some songs of Self Defense Family. Combine this with a chorus that sticks in your head for days (“…MASTURBATION…”) and you’ve got a veritable hit.

Hygiene is a good starting point for me to dive deeper into the cosmos of Drug Church. It will surely have a firm place in my Hardcore-Playlists and you should do the same.