In addition to fronting Michigan emo band Swordfish, Chandler Lach has spent the past couple years releasing lo-fi music on Bandcamp under the name Ness Lake, and he eventually also turned Ness Lake into a full band, who will release their first studio album this year. It's called Kicking, and it comes out on June 15 via Take This To Heart Records (which is also home to Swordfish). Pre-order it here. The record was recorded by Nick Diener, who fronted the broken-up Michigan punk band The Swellers (and who also recorded Swordfish's 2017 LP) and mastered by former Defeater guitarist Jay Maas.

We're premiering the lead single "Forgot," which is much clearer and bigger-sounding than those Bandcamp recordings, and proves that Ness Lake clean up well. It's atmospheric, melancholic, dead-serious emo that starts out quiet and minimal but eventually erupts into a crushing coda. If you like the art rock side of emo, you'll probably like this. Listen below.

Tracklist

Sitting

Kicking

Perfect Spirals

Cheery Menthol

Forgot

Bed Like a Grave

Microwave

Ellipsis

Varicose

Salt Stains