“Scratch” is the first single from HSY’s debut LP, Bask. All buzzsaw guitars and a hyper-saturated rhythm section propelling Jude’s guttural vocals, the track exemplifies the savage intensity of the band at their best. According to Jude “Scratch” was the first song written for HSY and addresses his own youthful self-regard. “Its basically about being an ego maniac and thinking you’re gods gift to women when really your just a smelly 20 something with nothing really to offer anyone,” he says, “a love song to myself of sorts.”

With its roots in the now-defunct Buzz Garage in Toronto’s Chinatown, sludge-punk outfit HSY was originally formed in 2011 by the mononymous Garage co-founder, Jude. Almost three years on from their first incarnation the band, now with a full line-up featuring Kat Theodorelos, Brandon Lim and Anna Mayberry of Anamai, rejoined to an empty small town church to record their self-titled 2013 debut EP, which was released on Buzz Records.

In the wake of the EP’s release, HSY embarked on tours of the US and UK in 2014, sharing the stage with White Lung, Deerhoof and labelmates Odonis Odonis, and releasing the AA-side 7” Cyber Bully b/w Phantasm Blast via Too Pure and Buzz. Following their year of touring HSY began work on their first LP in late 2014. Recorded with Josh Korody (Dilly Dally, Wish, Beliefs) at his Toronto studio Candle Recording, the album, entitled Bask, captures an exciting moment in the band’s continued evolution, deepening and distorting their Melvinsesque sludge punk with post-punk flourishes reminiscent of Factory Records groups like Section 25, and nods to HSY’s enduring interest in black metal, occasionally careening into territory that recalls Transylvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone.

Tracklist

1. Acid Peel
2. Slush Puppy
3. Feeder
4. Sally
5. Scratch
6. Cyber Bully
7. Woulda Coulda
8. Interlude
9. Valour
10. Dr. Death