Deaf Club - We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness

Deaf Club bring a crazed hardcore assault on new album We Demand A Permanent State of Happiness. The band which features Justin Pearson of the Locust, along with members of ACXDC and Glassing, combine the chaos of noise rock with the anger of grindcore with the confrontational energy that can be felt from Pearson’s other projects. Additionally choruses are sometimes stacked in a punchy gang vocal fashion to create Hardcore anthems for the dying light of this burning world. 

Songs such as 'Pain in the Assery' tend to be quick bursts of anxiety and is one of those tracks which embraces punk energy but through a more experimental filter. Noise rock has always felt like its the more experimental version of punk, and sometimes the record even goes beyond punk into heavier sonic extremes, as can be heard on 'Biblical Loophole' which is blasted in your face in an over-the-top temper tantrum fashion, broken up by a flurry of sonic gut punches to create hooks rather than just giving your ears a thrashing.

'Vinegar, Soap & Holy Water' however is not blasted at you, it works off the groove of a more deliberate bass line. The shouted vocals convey the needed emotions, even if it begins to feel like their cadence works off of a certain formula, before you remember that punk has never really asked much from their vocalists, which is why the Lee Vings and Glenn Danzigs of the world stand out from their peers. 'Frequency Illusion Master' charges in with punk abrasion, though there are some interesting angular touches regarding the sonics in the periphery. They do break this up midway through the song, which works well. 'Liquidate the Living Body' has a touch of grindcore, not unlike the earlier work of Today is the Day while 'All Hot Dogs are in Bread' has a Dead Kennedys-like tension which is run through more of an aggressive sonic filter. It sounds cool, even if they are not reinventing the wheel of punk songwriting. The speed is picked up for the more frantic blast of 'Closed Fists Closed Minds' , the chaos and noise invading the song at various junctures; the deliberate pounding that offsets this is the most interesting feature. The dissonant post-industrial noise drone of the last song is one of the album's strongest moments.

You have to appreciate the album’s energy and adventurous spirit so that if you're wanting some intense noise-ridden punk, this should check off most boxes for you. It lashes out at the world around them and preaches from a soapbox, while still retaining the fun escapist purpose that we listen to music for. It brings some odd sonic colors that are a welcome addition to the broader canvas of punk music in 2025.  

Review by Wil Cifer