Steel Wool's Debut EP Offers A Stirring Vision Of Who They Are (And Who They Will Be)

There are a few non-music related things I love about Steel Wool, so let me count them out for you before I jump into discussing their great new EP:

The art for this project, done by Los Angeles artist Cayla Blachman, is incredible; the packshots for both “Eyes Closed” and the excellent standout “Fading” are remarkable, and their debut self-titled EP has a similarly striking intensity. To quote the late, great Albert Einstein: “In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.”
Occasional MGRM contributor Jaden Amjadi is actually in this band, offering huge bass riffs and vocals across all four songs.
If you haven’t heard, Steel Wool are actually playing the Friday of MGRM10, our 10th anniversary show, at Permanent Records Roadhouse, alongside Mo Dotti and Scone. Tickets for that conveniently go on sale today!

But let’s get into the music, shall we? This is actually the second time we’ve featured Steel Wool on the site for a premiere; the last time was in December, writing about their contribution of Wham!’s “Last Christmas” for Hit The North Records’ A FESTIVE CHARITY COMPILATION FOR THE PALESTINE CHILDREN’S RELIEF FUND. I described that cover as featuring “slow, plodding, buzzy stadium guitars and huge, brooding crooner vocals.” It’s a description that still plays for the group’s debut EP, with opener “Fading” playfully acting as a slow-rolling mist that slowly envelopes a cold grey over everything—among the best songs of the year to date, the whirring shoegaze cut finds a fusion of post-hardcore and post-rock sounds as it lumbers along.

That still grayness prevails throughout the EP, but from the staggering sax solo on “Another Sunday” to the chilly, lo-fi, late-night funk riffs in “Eyes Closed,” Steel Wool aren’t content simply crafting more modern mid-tempo shoegaze and slowcore music (though “Heaven or La Brea” proves they could do just that and be fine). They close the EP with a cutting slow build entitled “Tired Movements,” where a gripping singular guitar and quiet vocal harmonies powerfully turn into something emotionally arresting. All five tracks give a great sense of what Steel Wool are and will be. You can check out the whole EP a day early below!

Steel Wool will be playing MGRM10 on August 15th at Permanent Records Roadhouse alongside Mo Dotti and Scone. You can grab tickets for that show right here!