Celebrating their 40th anniversary, Canadian garage rockers The Gruesomes are back from the crypt with The Dimension of Fear, their first new album in 25 years. Formed in Montreal in 1985, these teenage misfits with zero formal training somehow carved themselves into cult status with their catchy, fuzz-drenched riffs and snotty, fearless performance.
The new record doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, and why should it? Across ten new rousing originals and three well-chosen covers (The Vectors’ What In The World, Les Lutins’ Laissez-Nous Vivre, and The Shades Of Night’s Fluctuation), the four original band members—Bobby Beaton, Gerry Alvarez, John Davis, and John Knoll—lean into what made them beloved in the first place: just the right mix of tempo, energy, fun, angst, danger, and charm, if that makes any sense. It’s loud, raw, and utterly alive.
The Dimension of Fear! is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Soundflat Records.