NEW BRUTALISM
REQUIESCAT RECORD - LP
UPC: 3700604768999
Label: COMPUTER STUDENTS
Format: LP
Release Date: September 12, 2025
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Requiescat Record is the new EP by New Brutalism, a minimal rock quartet formed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1998. The band comprises vocalist Shane Elliott, guitarist/vocalist Matt Hall, bassist/vocalist David Basford, and drummer Carey Balch.
The three-track release — “088,” “087” and “089,” in keeping with their strict numerical naming convention — will arrive September 12, 2025 with the same tracklist on both sides of 45rpm, 12-inch 180g HQ vinyl.
Named after a defunct and often derided architectural movement, New Brutalism was born out of a shared musical vision between Hall and Balch, who first connected in 1996. For both, “less is more” became a guiding principle — channeled through an unwaveringly raw, direct, and honest approach to sound.
Elliott was the next to join, followed by bassist Sonny Simpson and Basford on second guitar. After Elliott moved to Chicago and Simpson left the band as well, Basford picked up the bass — solidifying a lineup that lasted from 1998 to 2021. In 2021, Elliott reunited with the band he helped form — this time on vocals.
Out of partly sound, partly aesthetic, mainly a thirst to build, New Brutalism performs on aluminum instruments built by the band members. They chose the material because itʼs lighter than steel, more consistent than wood, and easy to machine. Above all, itʼs precise — and thereby, can produce precise music.
In 2021, New Brutalism entered Electrical Audio to record Requiescat Record — opting not for the stark, dead room Alcatraz, but the large, reverberant Center Field.
New Brutalism embraces the process, mistakes and all, any accidents become a part of the design, and the design often becomes a form of acceptance. The band has also grown to embrace necessity — given they’re divided across four states, and practice sessions are few and far between. Therefore, “088,” “087” and “089” feature more repetition, buildups, and overlapping transitions than ever before. The music is less rigid and riff-driven, more intuitive and open to the unknown.
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