Hot Water Music and Quicksand have dropped a new split EP, which can be streamed below.
The four-song release sees each band covering the other and offering up a previously unreleased track.
Hot Water Music’s half of the split features a cover of Quicksand’s Slip opener “Fazer,” as Chuck Ragan and company imbue the heavy track with their own sonic characteristics while adhering faithfully to the source material. The band also dug back into the sessions for its latest album Vows, unearthing the previously unreleased “Undertow.”
“Like many who grew up listening to hardcore and punk rock from early ages on, we were inspired and driven by a lot of work from all the members that make up Quicksand, and of course by Quicksand themselves,” Ragan said of his post-hardcore colleagues in the press release for the EP. “Fast forward to 1999 when we had the honor of working with Walter Schreifels as he produced our record No Division. That experience went from surreal and intimidating to completely comforting and empowering. Our respect and admiration grew tenfold until we got the chance to tour with them. We already admired and respected them, now we love them like family.”
Meanwhile, Quicksand took on “Free Radio Gainesville” from the Schreifels-produced No Division, adding further emphasis to the riffs and low-end groove. And for their previously unreleased track, Quicksand included the riff-tastic “Supercollider” — the first new original track from the band since 2022.
“It’s an awesome, full-circle moment for me to be a part of this split with Hot Water Music,” commented Schreifels. “It wasn’t too long after Quicksand broke up that I got to meet and work with Hot Water Music as producer for their album No Division. It was an absolutely magical experience.”
He continued, “We had so much fun, the album came out amazing, and at the very end of the last day of recording, I added a vocal to my fave song ‘Free Radio Gainesville’, which we covered for the split. I’m beyond grateful that all these years later Quicksand is back doing what we love along with our brothers in HWM, still playing with that same passion that drew us together in the first place. Feels like home.”
The EP arrives just before Hot Water Music and Quicksand embark on their joint November European tour — and right after HWM received the Key to the City of Gainesville, Florida last Thursday (October 24th). Mayor Harvey Ward presented the band with the honor, which it shares with the likes of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Laura Jane Grace.
You can stream the Hot Water Music/Quicksand split below.
Hot Water Music / Quicksand Split EP Artwork:
Hot Water Music / Quicksand Split EP Tracklist:
01. Fazer (Hot Water Music)
02. Free Radio Gainesville (Quicksand)
03. Supercollider (Quicksand)
04. Undertow (Hot Water Music)