HTRK Nostalgia (Vinyl)

15th anniversary edition repress of HTRKs achingly scuzzy debut album, Nostalgia from Fire Records

Recorded and self-released in 2004, HTRKs Nostalgia is a far more gristly and cranky beast than what you’d expect if you’re new to their early work.

Essentially plying a form of modern, post-industrial deathrock tempered by trip hop and shoegaze, their form of nostalgia feels preserved in salt and smoke, sweetening and toughening the meat of their music but also making it palatable to a generation who, by 2004 had grown weary of rock clichs and really needed a stronger taste for their worn out palates.

HTRK – pronounced HATE ROCK – squeezed the essence of Suicide, Joy Division, TG and more locally The Birthday Party, and distilled it to a potent solution that works both as intoxicating options for escapism and a fix for the bloated corpus of a dying (dead?) rock music.

Sadly they would be followed by the shadow of death in coming years, with the passing of then band-member Sean Stewart and their future mentor, Roland S. Howard (The Birthday Party) both passing in 2009 circa their 2nd album, but the way they nihilistically peered into the abyss on Nostalgia remains testament to the grippingly abrasive and unshakeable conviction of their early sound.

Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, White

Tracklist:
A1 Hate Rock Trio 2:34
A2 Look What’s Been Done 7:53
A3 Look Down The Line 6:25
B1 Look At That Girl 3:28
B2 Look At Her 4:49
B3 You Injured Me 5:22
B4 I’m All Broke Up 5:38