Upchuck is a five-piece Atlanta band, formed from connections made in skateboarding, construction, and teenage delinquency. The band is lead guitarist Mikey, Rhythm guitarist Hoff, bassist Armando, drummer Chris, and vocalist KT – who combined are inventively raucous and revolutionary. Upchuck shakes the minds and bodies of those seeking a release. With lyricism to prove her intentions, songwriter KT screams of haunting tales of discrimination, ignorance, and life in a doomed generation. Only the wise and relentless will thrive in a revolutionized and radical world, and upchuck is sternly feeding the fuel for a new gen. Sense Yourself is teeming with the sounds of swaggering danger. Songs bearing titles such as “Boss Up,” “In Your Mind,” and “Our Skin” come out of the gate strong, complete with searing energy courtesy of guitarists Mikey and Hoff. Bass player Armando and drummer Chris’ rhythms are driven by a bounding sense of urgency and contempt. The group attacks creative post-punk and indie rock with a compelling blend of high-energy blasts and ’90s alt rock inflections, channeled through a haze of distortion. “Perdido,” sung in Spanish by drummer Chris, builds energy around the phrase: “Hago lo que quiero” — I do what I want. With “In Your Mind,” the group explores the realities of reaping what you sow. But the album’s undisputed jam, “Facecard,” finds KT taking on the superficiality of modern America: “The trifling yuppie fuck, comes out beyond the cut to try and low ball, low ball,” KT sings. Operating from an axis of punk, hip-hop, and alt rock, a sense of discovery, and the power of youthful energy culminating in a new music contained within these songs is intoxicating to the end.
