Between studying Kensington Palace's photo editing and patiently waiting for the Oscars to upload Jonathan Glazer's acceptance speech to YouTube, consider turning your attention to Sham Family's "Modern Myth." Recorded and produced by Holy Fuck's Graham Walsh, the Toronto band's first release since 2022 is a magnetic return, examining what they call modernity's "obsession with creating and recreating stories rather than truths"; soundtracking the societal stagger toward an intellectual dark age with propulsive drums and liberally layered distortion.
These moments of deliberating fact versus fiction leave vocalist Kory Ross to wonder, "Did it really occur / Or has it sunk into the modern myth," coming to repeat the latter line until his own forceful delivery and driving instrumental crescendo toward a final minute which feels like a mental breakthrough. In a moment offering a glimpse at a more fractious future of communication to come, the four-piece's forthright post-punk feels undeniably real.
