Formed in Los Angeles in early 2018 by Alex Kent and April Gerloff, Sprain play downer music at cathartic volumes. The band channels frustration, futility, and general misanthropy into their sound, and expands on a thread of spidery 90’s rock (think Unwound, Duster, Slint etc.) to express their hopelessness. As dynamic as they are destructive, Sprain are at home on bills with heavy bands, indie bands, and everything in between. They are marked by an aggressive versatility that has been sorely lacking in recent guitar music.



Sprain‘s initial home-recorded forays into minimalistic slowcore resulted in their self-titled EP (self-released in August of 2018). The EP distinguished them from the lo-fi pack through visceral expressions of depressed life as heard on standout songs like “True Norwegian Black Metal.” Soon, guitarist Alex Simmons and drummer Max Pretzer joined, folding tumultuous noise rock, drone, and flirtations with the avant-garde into the band’s arsenal. Touring converged these explorations into Sprain’s current sound: pure 21st century panic strained through a wall of piercing, feedbacking guitar amps. Check out Sprain on Bandcamp, like them on Facebook, and look for more news to come soon from Sprain and The Flenser in 2020.

Sprain – live:December 8 Los Angeles, CA @ Part Time Punks w/ NOTHING

