Primitive Man return with Observance, a harrowing six-track descent into societal collapse, self-examination and fleeting transcendence. After twelve years shaping the outer edges of heavy music, the Denver trio turn their gaze inward and outward at once — confronting the violence, inequality and moral decay surrounding them while refusing to exempt themselves from critique.
Written collaboratively by Ethan McCarthy, Joe Linden and Jon Campos soon after 2022’s Insurmountable EP, the album captures the band’s obsessive creative process and evolving sound. While rooted in their trademark density, Observance pushes further into hypnotic, experimental territory, layering their crushing tone with a bleak sense of melancholy. McCarthy’s lyrics and artwork form a cohesive whole, influenced by the work of poet Tongo Eisen-Martin and his collection Blood on the Fog, examining the failures of modern systems and the cost of survival within them.
Recorded and mixed by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Recording Studio in Chicago and mastered by Arthur Rizk, Observance stands as both a lament and an act of endurance — a record that seeks light even as it stares unflinchingly into the void.