Panthers sound like a collision between the intellectual fury of the 1990s screamo scene and the raw, hip-shaking energy of 1970s Detroit proto-punk. It is music that feels physically dangerous, driven by jagged guitar riffs and a rhythm section that prioritizes momentum over polish. The vocals are a desperate, rhythmic bark that carries the weight of political urgency without losing the sense of a rock and roll party.
What sets them apart is their lineage and their 'swagger.' While many of their contemporaries in the early 2000s Brooklyn scene were leaning into dance-punk or purely abstract noise, Panthers maintained a tether to the MC5 and The Stooges. They took the technical precision of their previous bands like Orchid and injected it with a greasy, garage-rock soul, resulting in tracks that are as smart as they are loud.
Start with 'Are You Down??' to hear the band at their most explosive and concentrated. It captures the transition from their hardcore roots into the more expansive, groove-oriented sound that defined their later years on Vice Records. It is the essential document of a band that bridged the gap between the underground basement and the art-rock stage.
Panthers is an American post hardcore band from Brooklyn, New York City. The Village Voice described them as "groundbreaking dissonant HC (hardcore) with Rolling Stones swagger." Three members were previously in the screamo band Orchid. Panthers have released four records. The most recent two, The Trick and Things Are Strange were released on Vice Records. Prior to that they released via Dim Mak Records and Troubleman Unlimited. They began as a side project by members of the bands Orchid, Turing Machine, and The Red Scare. Kip Uhlhorn went on to form the band Cloudland Canyon with Simon Wojan of King Khan & the Shrines.
Shares intense, raspy, deadpan (vocal style); basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere)
Shares basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere); defiant, energetic, rebellious (moods)
Shares defiant, energetic, rebellious (moods); noise textured, analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere); noise textured, analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere); intense, raspy, deadpan (vocal style)
Shares basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere); noise textured, analog warmth, live recording (production style)
Shares defiant, energetic, rebellious (moods); basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere)
Shares defiant, energetic, rebellious (moods); basement show, dive bar, urban night (atmosphere)
Shares noise textured, analog warmth, live recording (production style); basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere)
Shares intense, raspy, deadpan (vocal style); basement show, urban night, dive bar (atmosphere)
Shares post-hardcore, noise rock, punk rock, tense (signature)
Shares post-hardcore, punk rock, tense, urgent (signature)
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