FILM started as a low-key pandemic project, but the people involved immediately made it worth paying attention to: Ken Vasoli (The Starting Line), guitarist Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader, Dogs On Acid), and drummer TJ DeBlois (Halfway to Holland, A Life Once Lost).

FILM do not lean on the glossy pop punk of The Starting Line or mathy emo fireworks of Algernon Cadwallader. Instead, Permanence lands somewhere in that sweet spot between post-hardcore and alternative rock where tension, atmosphere, and strong musicianship carry the weight. These songs feel alive and exploratory, less like a carefully calculated supergroup and more like friends bouncing ideas off each other until something clicks. And a lot clicks here. The guitar work constantly shifts shape, while the rhythm section keeps everything moving with an understated intensity that makes the whole thing rewarding to sit with.

Originally, Permanence was never even meant to receive a proper release, more of a demo document than a formal statement. But the sudden passing of TJ DeBlois in 2023 at age 38 gives the record an unavoidable emotional weight. What started as a side project now feels like the beginning of something special and, at the same time, a final document of a drummer whose playing gives these songs so much pulse and character.

Permanence is available on LP at lauren Records

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