Watery Love

Originating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the quartet Watery Love generates raw, abrasive hardcore punk defined by blunt distortion and calculated primitivism, underscoring the persistent undercurrent of hostility within the City of Brotherly Love. The group coalesced in 2009 around vocalist and guitarist Richie Charles, formerly of Clockcleaner, guitarist Max Milgram, bassist Dan DiMaggio, who had previously played in Home Blitz, and drummer Meg Baird, who also performs with Espers. Their abrasive, irritable approach quickly built a following in the local punk community, partly because of—and partly despite—their minimal interest in touring, which coincided with the release of their first 7-inch, “I’m a Skull” b/w “All Night Long,” on Richie Records that year. Momentum carried overseas, leading Brisbane-based Negative Guest List Records to issue the follow-up single “New Kind of Kick” b/w “A Condom” in 2011. In 2013, respected indie imprint Siltbreeze Records released the band’s third 7-inch, pairing “Die with Dignity” with “Leave Me Alone.” Meg Baird exited the lineup by the close of that year, after which Ben Leaphart, also of Birds of Maya, joined on drums. Baird nonetheless contributed to the 2014 In the Red Records single “Sick People” b/w “I Don’t Care” and to the group’s debut full-length, Decorative Feeding, which appeared several months afterward.