Post-hardcore is one of those genre labels that has become increasingly meaningless over the years. Covering everything from Husker Du, Minutemen and Fugazi to Funeral For A Friend, Dashboard Confessional and Dance Gavin Dance.
London's Inner Dog feel like they are here to put the hardcore back into post-hardcore in the same way that Idles have reintroduced aggression to post-punk.
EP opener Truths is a tale of grief reminiscent of At The Drive-In's intensity. Evocative of Drive Like Jehu at their very best with the melodic elements of 90s Revelation Records luminaries Whirpool and Chinchilla. What really elevates it is Clémence's ability to switch between screamo and clean vocals with ease. Intense and cathartic, it is the ideal introduction to the band.
The instrumentation on Bears Eat Honey could easily come from the mind of Walter Schreifels. A treatise on generational trauma, it is made for being played at summer festivals with thousands moving in unison.
Closer Smoke Mirror ups the ante in furiosity with pure hardcore intensity. Brutal from start to finish it allows Clémence to show off her screaming rage.
While the EP clocks in at under 8 minutes, it goes in a myriad of different directions in that time without sounded disjointed. I expect big things from Inner Dog in 2027 especially if they can get back into the studio for a debut full-length.
The Inner Dog EP is available on cassette from Serial Bowl Records and digitally from Bandcamp.
