Nocturnal Habits – “Good Grief”

Nocturnal Habits – “Good Grief”

For many years, Justin Trosper and Sara Lund helped shaped the face of underground rock as members of Olympia post-hardcore band Unwound. Trosper went solo under the name Survival Knife in 2014, but today he and Lund are back with a new band called Nocturnal Habits. The group also includes Sherry Fraser, Dale Crover of Melvins, and Scott Seckington of Two Ton Boa, and their aptly titled album em>New Skin For Old Children is coming out on Isaac Brock’s Glacial Pace label — so it basically represents a convergence of Pacific Northwest indie rock royalty.

Lead single “Good Grief” premiered today at NPR, where Trosper shared some background:

“Good Grief” was the first song idea that made it to the record except for “Wall Of Early Morning Light,” which was written who knows how long ago. I think it’s one of my best songs and a good intro to what is to come, hopefully. People are right to think that this record is a natural follow-up to the last Unwound record (Leaves Turn Inside You). … It’s an inside-of-myself record.

If you’ve made it this far into the post, I’m going to assume you’re enough of an Unwound fan that invoking the great Leaves Turn Inside You will turn your head, but just in case, let me assure you that the song is good and will scratch an itch some people have been waiting 15 years for. That said, this first taste of Nocturnal Habits is brighter and more aggressive than Unwound’s darkly droning swan song. Hear “Good Grief” below.

New Skin For Old Children is out 10/28 on Glacial Pace.

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