{"id":2251254,"date":"2026-01-26T16:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T16:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2251254"},"modified":"2026-01-26T16:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T16:22:20","slug":"new-music-from-columbia-sc-musicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-music-from-columbia-sc-musicians\/","title":{"rendered":"New music from Columbia, SC, musicians"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Have a new release you want featured? Email editor@free-times.com<\/a> for consideration.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not like Columbia has ever been short on people making music \u2014 it\u2019s just been especially loud about it lately. Across genres and scenes, local artists have been quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) putting out records that reflect the city\u2019s range, restlessness and DIY streak. Here\u2019s a quick roundup of the past few months of releases from Columbia musicians. It\u2019s a snapshot of what\u2019s coming out of their bedrooms, basements and home studios right now.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIll Street, Vol. 1\u201d by Kid Roxxdamus<\/p>\n

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\u201cILL Street, Vol. 1,\u201d ILL St. aka Kid Roxxdamus<\/h2>\n

This is one of the more genuinely unsettling releases of late 2025. An aural horror movie, \u201cILL STREET, VOL. 1\u201d<\/a> trades in a sound called krump. Krump is high-energy, aggressive hip-hop or electronic music that can be both explosive and expressive, and Columbia rapper Kid Roxxdamus has got that part down pat. The album is less a collection of songs than a scary theme park ride, blasting through 14 tracks of off-center beats, shards of hip-hop boasting coated in grimy layers of distortion. There are samples from \u201cThe Nightmare Before Christmas\u201d floating around this aural horror show, along with snippets of horror movie themes, and that only serves to spotlight Kid Roxxdamus\u2019s evil, unpredictable flow. It\u2019s not for everybody, but if you catch the vibe, it\u2019s addictive.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFree at Last\u201d by Stretch Arm Strong.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFree At Last,\u201d Stretch Arm Strong<\/h2>\n

Stretch Arm Strong\u2019s roots lie in hardcore punk, but on its new album \u201cFree At Last,\u201d<\/a> that raging sound is tempered by a near punk-pop sense of melody. The vocals on the album\u2019s 13 tracks range from emotional crooning to throat-shredding wails, and the band moves as one on tight, monolithic rockers on the raging \u201cThe Hardest Part\u201d and \u201cFaces.\u201d The band even toys with straight-ahead hard rock on \u201cHearts on Fire\u201d and leads off \u201cTo the End\u201d with a finger-breaking bass riff. The overall effect can be a bit numbing after a while (the album could be a bit tighter, length-wise), but there are songs on this album that could, and should, be on modern rock radio right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMy Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest\u201d by Your Spirit Dies.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest,\u201d Your Spirit Dies<\/h2>\n

What is it about Columbia that spawns so many top-notch metal bands? Is it the heat? The toxicity of being the center of state politics? Regardless, we can deafen the masses with the best of them, and that\u2019s what Your Spirit Dies does on \u201cMy Gnawing Pains Will Never Rest.\u201d<\/a> You do not \u201clisten\u201d to this album as much as you \u201cendure\u201d it. Fans of punishing, merciless hardcore will be in heaven when they hear grinding, feral song-beasts like \u201cTrenches of Pain,\u201d \u201cA Rose for Every Stone\u201d and the epic \u201cUnjust God.\u201d If you don\u2019t like punishing your ears, skip this one. If you\u2019re into tinnitus, grab your headphones and enjoy the ride.<\/p>\n

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\u201cVisions\u201d by The Movement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cVisions,\u201d The Movement<\/h2>\n

Nominally, The Movement is a reggae band, and you can certainly find plenty of sun-splashed, easy-skank rhythms on \u201cVisions\u201d<\/a> like \u201cRiver Guide You.\u201d But the music is more than that, and the band might have stumbled onto one hell of an original sound here. The Movement mixes electronic dance beats and moody synths into a basic foundation of reggae, creating a hybrid of styles that works surprisingly well. Find electronic zips and zaps on \u201cPutting Up 2\u201d and there\u2019s even a DJ scratching over the aforementioned traditional track, \u201cRiver Guide You.\u201d This album might turn off fans of traditional reggae, but if you\u2019re of a musically adventurous mind, it\u2019s a hell of a ride.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo Place Here\u201d by Private Compliment.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo Place Here,\u201d Private Compliment<\/h2>\n

The newest release<\/a> on this list (released Jan. 17) is also the shortest, most ragged and most energetic. Private Compliment plays old-school breakneck American hardcore punk, which means speed, aggression and neck-snapping time changes. This bad boy kicks down the door with the top speed \u201cLast Laugh,\u201d which has a hilarious faux-ska break, and never stops. \u201c2 Cola System\u201d is a scathing indictment of local politics, and the title track brings things crashing down with a riff that chain smokes Camels and a lyrical screed against racism. Three songs. Maximum attitude. Less than nine minutes. Hell yeah.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPain Shopping\u201d by Her Noise is Violence.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPain Shopping,\u201d Her Noise Is Violence<\/h2>\n

Back in 1975, the great Velvet Underground songwriter and professional jerk Lou Reed released a double-album of nothing but amps feeding back. It was called \u201cMetal Machine Music.\u201d There were no songs. Just screaming, harsh, electronic noise. Some people called it bullshit. Others called it genius. The jury is still out. \u201cPain Shopping\u201d<\/a> makes \u201cMetal Machine Music\u201d sound like Kenny G. This isn\u2019t unruly noise; this is layer upon layer of shifting, jagged shards. It sounds like the listener is desperately turning an AM radio dial in the middle of a construction site that\u2019s being hit by a tornado. Her Noise Is Violence refers to this album as \u201ctherapeutic;\u201d I found it genuinely unsettling. I have no idea whether it\u2019s good or bad, but it leaves an impression.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMake Good\u201d by Tourneforte.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMake Good,\u201d Tourneforte<\/h2>\n

After a slate of rage-filled releases this time out, it was genuinely refreshing to hear a bright, hook-filled album<\/a> that could actually be called \u201calternative rock,\u201d if that phrase wasn\u2019t more out of fashion than fidget spinners. Tourneforte is a quartet that aims squarely for your listening pleasure centers, with full, surging riffs, catchy choruses and a good ear for ballads (check out the heartbreaking opener \u201cFig.\u201d) Songs like the loping \u201cMinnesota\u201d and the acoustic-electric gem \u201cCenterfolds\u201d sound like vintage \u201890s college radio favorites, and in a perfect world, the anthemic \u201cTime Flies\u201d would fill stadiums.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n