J.R.C.G. ( DREAMDECAY ) - Grim Iconic... (Sadistic Mantra) LP [ILR exclusive white vinyl!!]

**This is a pre-order and will not ship until the release date of August 2nd 2024. If you order anything else with this it will be shipped along with this. Thanks!

THIS IS THE WHITE VINYL EDITION LP EXCLUSIVE TO IRON LUNG RECORDS.

To experience Justin R. Cruz Gallego’s pulverizing Sub Pop debut
is to get burned down to ashes and burst forth, born anew. Grim
Iconic...(Sadistic Mantra), the Tacoma-based artist’s second
album, is driven by opposing forces: noisy abstractions and tightly
structured beats, anguish and dissolution at the outside world and
empowerment within, apathy and catharsis. Grim
Iconic...(Sadistic Mantra) weds scouring electronics to hooky
songs and Gallego’s powerful drumming in a way that feels
visceral and new. It’s his most personal statement to date, at once
playful and intent, driven and combustible, total fucking chaos
mixed into glints of broken-glass beauty.

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Gallego experienced culture shock as a
child after relocating to the frigid climes of the Pacific Northwest.
He found solace in the Seattle punk scene centered around Iron
Lung Records and has since remained a fixture in the
underground community.

“I see this record as first and foremost a musical statement,”
Gallego says. “I grew up in punk and DIY subcultures, but before
that I had Latin music playing in the background through my
childhood and every phase of adolescence. It was surprisingly
natural to incorporate. I realized I wanted to go deeper into these
rhythms. I wanted to make a record that felt as experimental as
much as it felt from the perspective of a Latino. When I got a
glimmer of that possibility, it felt exciting.”

Lead single “Dogear” is a face-melting party starter that sounds
like someone forced Talking Heads and Rudimentary Peni to
share a practice space. “I wanted a song that felt playful in the way
it attempted to be dissonant without taking itself too seriously,”
Gallego says. “Cholla Beat” is even more ambitious, an anthemic
mix of WAR and Wire led by unruly synthesizers spiraling down a
labyrinth of production.

Gallego’s influences for the album are vast, ranging from British
documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis to electric Miles Davis to
audio miscreants like Demdike Stare and Oneohtrix Point Never.

But it’s Gallego’s assured sonic vision that resounds the loudest. And, while J.R.C.G.
is a solo project, conceived and executed primarily in Gallego’s home studio, he
found strength in opening the project to others, starting with Seth Manchester as
co-producer. Manchester’s penchant for bone-rattling frequencies, as seen in his
production work with The Body, Battles, and Mdou Moctar, made him a natural fit
for Gallego. Together, they retained the intimacy of Gallego’s home recordings while
taking advantage of the hi-fi stylings of his Machines With Magnets Studio in Rhode
Island. The closing song, “World i,” offers a glimpse into the live experience of Grim
Iconic...(Sadistic Mantra), with upwards of seven band members blasting o. The
album features a fascinating mix of supporting players, many of whom cycle through
J.R.C.G.’s live lineup: Morgan Henderson (The Blood Brothers, Fleet Foxes), Jason
Clackley (Dreamdecay, The Exquisites), Jon Scheid (Dreamdecay, U Sco), Erica
Miller (Casual Hex, Big Bite), Veronica Dye (Terminator) Phil Cleary (U Sco), and
Alex Gaziano (Dreamdecay, Kidcrash, Science Amplification).

Taken as a whole, G.I.S.M. is a whirlwind of sound, pummeling, and cleansing.
It’s a sweaty, thrilling aural adventure and, like a great basement show, it’ll
leave you breathless, exhausted, and wanting to repeat it all over again. As any
good mantra should.

Released on Sub Pop Records. All the other versions can be found here: https://megamart.subpop.com/products/j-r-c-g_grim-iconic-sadistic-mantra

**every once in a while the shipping amounts will seem insane (usually for multiple record int’l orders or US orders with shirts and records together) but rest assured we check each and every order and will refund any differences.