Matt Fiander: You are unlikely to hear a bed of guitars and thick and loud and unyielding as the one Mike Polizze unleashes on “Fever”, the first track from Purling Hiss’s upcoming record, High Bias. The effect, along with the thundering roll of drums and pit-of-your-stomach low rumble of bass, is bracing, so bracing you might miss the excellent, even catchy rock song that takes shape around all those heady layers. The chorus is big and excellent, not only because it’s catchy but because when Polizze belts out “you’re so misunderstood” you can hear how much he relishes calling bullshit. Like so many great Purling Hiss songs, this one sneaks some sweet melodies into the craggy mix. But this may find Polizze’s project striking its best balance yet between cut-loose noise and tight composition. At the center of the squall that is “Fever”, Purling Hiss unleashes a deeply focused and triumphant defiant, which is exactly what we need right now. [8/10]
Chris Ingalls: Philadelphia’s Purling Hiss have crafted a dreamy slice of distortion and noise that features vocal melodies lifted from psychedelic garage rock and a wall of guitars that feel vaguely Pixies-ish. A bit nondescript, but like the best garage singles, it’s in an out in three minutes and you want to listen all over again as soon as it’s done. [8/10]
Chad Miller: Pretty cool rock song. I love how intense the song is. The effect makes a lot of the lyrics pop. The only thing I wasn’t as into was the guitar solo near the end. It didn’t seem to do much for the track and didn’t offer many surprises. [6/10]
SCORE: 7.33