Karat's Gold Rat

Karat's Gold Invites You to the Torturous "Ministry of Love" (Video Premiere)


Illinois experimental hardcore noise-rockers Karat’s Gold are masters of bite-sized madness. Even their 2019 full-length Hail Gold is a wickedly short offering, and the studio sessions and single that have followed are similarly brief. It would be frustrating, except that every drip-feed is just that good. The band doesn’t really need lengthy songs to get their ideas across: riffs evolve in real time, and every bouncy, ricocheting groove stays long enough to sink into your head and then promptly evacuates. The band’s exploratory approach to noise rock and hardcore folds in plenty of mathy weirdness and just plain aggression, whipping up sonic frenzies of staggering volume without getting too dense or involved–one could argue these songs are just long enough for audiences to get demolished to in the pit.

The band is back with another ripping track-we’re premiering the music video for “Ministry of Love” below, created by Beth Randall. The just-over-a-minute track includes plenty of chaotic change-ups, sometimes seeming to totally shift direction mid-phrase. That’s the perfect atmosphere for the song’s subject matter–inspired by 1984, paranoia and fear go hand-in-hand with this unceasing, pursuing pace.

The band enlisted a friend, “L.D.,” to further describe the song as follows:

Karat’s Gold returns with “Ministry of Love”, a blistering sprint through Orwell’s dystopian touchstone, “1984”. Throbbing riffs duck and dodge Thought Police surveillance. But, panic and paranoia build until you’ve reached a dead end. You’re trapped like a rat. An avalanche of supercharged bass and drums pummel you as you race towards an exit.

This track will nourish you. It’s meat and potatoes. But really fucking good meat and potatoes. In an era of maximalism and unlimited tools, KG uses restraint. Here, Whitacre, Poole and Sheridan continue to push Midwestern hardcore in an unexpected direction. Speaking of which, did anyone else hear a piano?

Photo Credit: Nic Gundy
Photo Credit: Nic Gundy

Upcoming Karat’s Gold Shows:

5/21 – Peoria IL @ Peoria Pizza Works w/ See You Next Tuesday, meth., and Blind Equation
Stay tuned for more!

“Ministry of Love” will be available on Spotify on 4/20.

Follow Karat’s Gold on: Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp