Boston’s Crippling Alcoholism released their debut LP When The Drugs That Made You Sick Are The Drugs That Make You Better in 2022, and now they’re gearing up to follow it with With Love From A Padded Room this week. They make gothy noisy rock that takes influence from ’60s/’70s singer/songwriters like Scott Walker, Lee Hazlewood and Leonard Cohen, and also ends up in a similar ballpark as stuff like Swans, Nick Cave, and late-period Daughters.
The band says the album is “about a fictional prison and each song captures a different prisoner being held in solitary confinement,” and the brooding, ominous soundscapes set the perfect setting for the dark subject matter. “The album is supposed to feel as though you’re walking down the halls and peering into each cell, track by track,” the band continues. “I won’t go too deep into the character bios, but the characters range from vulnerable street addicts to confused career criminals to sadistic monsters. We used the gothic, noise-rock and ’60s/’70s singer/songwriter elements to weave together each character’s specific beliefs and mental state.”