Philadephia’s Great Weights was born with a purpose — to reclaim post-hardcore from the “sad boys” that marginalized and silenced voices of queer or POC members of the community. The chaotic and ferocious craftsmanship that courses through the veins of the project’s self-titled sophomore effort is as reactionary as it is necessary. You can feel the anger surging through each track, gradually bringing the blood of the incredible cast of musicians that make up Great Weights to a boil; nearly every track hits an unrelenting moment of catharsis that sees the vocals becoming more guttural and impassioned in order to ensure that people can’t ignore them anymore.

On the playfully named “After The Drive-in,” the band is anything but. The track is a brutal tear-down of the walls they’ve built around themselves; the track exists as a weaponized version of the kind of self-realization that breeds empowerment and a strong enough sense of direction/vigor that allow for positive growth and a chance to move forward.

When asked about the track, Meredith said: “The song is about making difficult choices that often make your life hell before it gets better. When I hit 27, I realized that the entire life I had led up until that point was literally making me sick. A lot of times it felt like I was heading in a direction I had no power over. We end the song with James screaming “This ain’t my God,” over and over again to remind ourselves of our own agency. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, we can change our own patterns of self-sabotage. Even if we’ve had the same destructive habits for decades, we can still beat them. We CAN regain control over our brains, even when that feels impossible. It is saying no to self-destruction; it is us reclaiming what we have taken from our own lives. It is a reminder that it is never too late to change.”

You can stream “After The Drive-in” below.

Great Weights is out April 13th on Bunny Cat Records and can be pre-ordered here. The record release show is the same date at The Mothership in Philadelphia. More info on that can be found here.