The Washington, DC band Mikau has a truly insane take on a much-maligned style. In a lot of ways, Mikau's music is routed in the mall-metalcore of the '00s -- the whiny clean-singing choruses, the gut-rumble guitar crunch, the screamy breakdowns. But Mikau, whose drummer Austin O'Rourke is also in Infant Island, put that sound into a blender, turning it into chaotic basement music. It makes for intense, unsettling fun.

Mikau released their full-length debut PHANTOMa in 2020. Since then, they've given us the 2022 EP Abandonware, as well as splits with p.s.you'redead and fellow Infant Island side project Mattachine. Now, there's another Mikau album on the way. They'll release the new LP Agartha in March, and they've just shared the intense, damaged opener "Spiraling Decay."

"Spiraling Decay" is an overwhelming, maximal piece of music, jammed with juddering guitars, sped-up jungle breakbeats, and ultra-busy keyboards. At times, it sounds like some unholy cross between Vein and 100 gecs, and I mean that as a compliment. All that disorienting sound feeds into the lyrics, which are all about living in a society on the brink: "We're all complicit in this cycle/ And no incantation can turn it back/ There is no sustainable consumption/ Don't be surprised when we bite back." Below, check out "Spiraling Decay" and the new LP's tracklist.