NJ hardcore band Gel have announced that they’ll follow last year’s great Only Constant LP with a new EP, Persona, on August 16 via Blue Grape Music, the new-ish label launched by former Roadrunner Records executives Dave Rath and Cees Wessels that’s also home to Code Orange and Spiritual Cramp. It’s their first release for the label, following releases on Convulse. Pre-orders are up now, and we’ve got an exclusive violet vinyl variant, limited to 300 copies. As you can see in the mock-up below, it matches the purple EP artwork pretty nicely. Get yours in the BV shop while they last.
The new 5-song EP was produced and engineered by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain, Koyo, etc), and vocalist Sami Kaiser says the band “really wanted to fill out the songs more and make them more nuanced. It’s a step forward, it’s different, it’s catchy, but it still really sounds like us.” The first taste of the new record is opening track “Mirage,” and it does indeed sound like a catchy step forward without abandoning the Gel sound that we already know and love. There’s no big genre pivot here or anything; it’s still a biting, caustic hardcore song but with a little extra something in there. Check out the song and its Eric Richter-directed below.
Gel also have a bunch of tour dates coming up. They’re playing Sick New World in Vegas this weekend, and then opening the Orchid reunion show at Brooklyn’s Warsaw on May 9. After that, they play a headlining home state show at Jersey City’s White Eagle Hall on May 19 with Korine, OLTH, and No Model, and they’ve also got upcoming shows with Have Heart, Fiddlehead, Militarie Gun, Spy, and more. All dates are listed below.
Pick up our exclusive violet vinyl variant here.
https://youtu.be/o8-HJRFcRZ4?si=ZJQa-Y9VLJSTuL2U
Tracklist
1. Mirage
2. Shame
3. Persona
4. Martyr
5. Vanity
Gel — 2024 Tour Dates
4/27 – Las Vegas, NV – Sick New World
5/9 – Brooklyn, NY – Warsaw +
5/10 – Richmond, VA – The Warehouse ~
5/12 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville
5/13 – Savannah, GA – Lodge of Sorrows @
5/14 – Asheville, NC – Eulogy @
5/16 – Indiannapolis, IN – Black Circle Brewery @
5/17 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple
5/18 – Pittsburgh, PA – Bottlerocket Social Hall #
5/19 – Jersey City, NJ – White Eagle Hall $
5/31 – Barcelona, ES – Primavera Sound
6/2 – Southampton, UK – The Joiners
6/3 – Oxford, UK – The Bullingdon
6/4 – Exeter, UK – Cavern
6/5 – Guildford, UK – Boileroom
6/8 – Porto, PT – Primavera Sound Porto
6/10 – Lyon, FR – Warmaudio
6/12 – Manchester, UK – The Star & Garter
6/13 – Glasgow, UK – Nice n Sleazy
6/14 – Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club
6/15 – Donnington, UK – Download Festival
6/17 – London, UK – The Garage
6/18 – Brighton, UK – Green Door Store
6/19 – Bristol, UK – Exchange
6/21 – Dessel, BE – Graspop Metal Meeting
6/22 – Gräfenhainichen, DE – Full Force
6/24 – Bologna, IT – Pontelungo
6/25 – Düdingen, CH – Bad Bonn
6/27 – Ysselstey, NL – Jera on Air
6/28 – Munster, DE – Vainstream Rockfest
6/30 – Clisson, FR – Hellfest
7/2 – Wiesbaden, DE – Kesselhaus
7/3 – Hamburg, DE – headCRASH
7/4 – Roskilde, DK – Rosklide Festival
7/6 – Belfort, FR – Eurockeennes
7/7 – Ypres, BE – Ieperfest
7/20 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner %
7/26 – Norwalk, CT – District Music Hall ^
7/27 – Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer ^
7/29 – Durham, NC – Motorco Music Hall ^
7/31 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East ^
8/1 – Atlanta, GA – Terminal West ^
8/2 – Louisville, KY – Porto ^
9/27 – Louisville, KY – Louder than Life
10/10 – Sacramento, CA- Aftershock
+ supporting Orchid
~ with Spy
@ with Militarie Gun
# with Korine
$ with Korine, OLTH, No Model
% supporting Have Heart
^ supporting Fiddlehead
