Listen to new Faxed EP from Philly punks Chronic Anxiety
Chronic Anxiety — what a band name. The tension it evokes is evident in the loud urgency of their songs, but in a way that makes listening more cathartic than anxiety-inducing. The Philly punk trio appeared on our radar a few months ago when they appeared on Bandcamp with debut EP Little Girls — read about it in The Key’s Items Tagged Philadelphia series. And though the group still remains pretty elusive, they’re now back with another EP, called Faxed.
Like their previous release, Faxed merits comparison to the radical punk of days past — Bikini Kill and Sonic Youth come to mind, and they could easily stand alongside contemporary acts like French Vanilla — but their blunt honesty and relentless energy feel totally fresh, and totally Philly. It’s easy to picture the three-piece, made up of bandmates Ambr (no e), Hey Boi and Hi Boi on guitar, bass and drums, letting out their fuzzy and abrasive tunes to a crowd that shares their vivacity and wants to shout along. On Faxed, Chronic Anxiety’s four tracks come together seamlessly in a well-crafted bout of frustration that tackles a range of life’s tribulations — from everyday working life on “City Lumberjack,” unleashing squeals of “it’s all about the paperwork!!”, to the suffocating feeling of constriction on “Advertise me,” repeating “sell me out, sell me out.”
If you want to catch a rare sighting of Chronic Anxiety in the flesh, they’ll be playing Good Behavior Records’ hurricane relief benefit at Underground Arts on Oct. 19, alongside fellow DIY acts Inside Voices, Dreamswell and Dialer. Proceeds from the event benefit the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the Hispanic Federation. Find more information here.
Stream Faxed below.