BALACLAVA
EGG PUNK | GARAGE ROCK
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Photo by Rose Cormier
Birthed from NYC wastewater and soaked in formaldehyde, BALACLAVA (Queens, NY) answers the age-old question of what animated trash would sound like. Via a patented amalgamation of punk, new wave, and garage, the devilish masked outfit invites you into the fray, wasting no time and handing you a stiff cocktail of distorted drums, crunched-up bass, cranky guitars, swirling synths, and delay-soaked vocals. The Needle Drop’s Anthony Fantano describes the resulting sound as “weird, kind of synthy, egg punk / rock [that’s] very scuzzy, very lo-fi, very left-field.” Following a slew of EPs and singles, the debut full-length record MONEY GLITCH releases on January 22nd, 2027 via Mothland.
Following a move from Boston to Ridgewood in 2019, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Jonathan Dylan Joyce (a.k.a. BALA) started printing “crunchy and catchy” (Post-Trash) songs on a 4-track tape recorder, later enrolling a fellowship of trash enthusiasts with whom to start a band. Along the way, BALACLAVA released two EPs, HAVE A TASTE (August 15th, 2022) and THE ¼ INCH ALMANAC (March 1st, 2024 via Godless America Records), as well as two singles, DRAMATIC EXIT (January 21st, 2026) and LOVE BOG/RAT PISS (August 7th, 2026).
Over the years, the “faceless egg punkers” (Alt Citizen) have been cutting their teeth on just about every dirty NYC venue floor, leaving those who attend a show sweaty, happy, and hooked. Chaotic yet calculated, BALACLAVA’s live concerts are “blistering, explosive, and fueled by fearsome violence of action.” (Pan M 360) Amidst tours in the United States, Canada, and Europe, the five-piece got to entrance crowds at SXSW, Hopscotch Music Festival, Sonic Waves, and Beseda Festival, all the while sharing the stage with the likes of The Mummies, Horse Lords, Liturgy, Geordie Greep, and Kap Bambino, amongst others.
MONEY GLITCH (January 22nd, 2027 via Mothland) is packed with scuzzed-up, beer-soaked, neck-twisting, muscle-moving, gain-cranking, sugary sweet punk tunes—a most-welcome distraction, an antidote to the bummer, half-trash-bug-half-ear-worm mutants that burrow deep into your brains for days to come. So pour another, pet a dog, kiss your homies, call a lover, pick up your feet, and enjoy. BALACLAVA loves you.
LABEL: MARILYNE@MOTHLAND.COM
BOOKING (NA): JACK@NICETIMEBOOKING.COM
BOOKING (QC): ROSE@MOTHLAND.COM
PRESS: PHIL@MOTHLAND.COM
Releases
Upcoming shows
Video
Press
“Well, meet BALACLAVA’s prophetic “four-dimensional” dog! He’s a very good boy. A rescue! So now let him rescue you. [...] The song is drowning in static from the racing mind of its creator and its own fast-paced melody.”
“Weird, kind of synthy, egg punk / rock group [that’s] very scuzzy, very lo-fi, very left-field.”
“NYC’s BALACLAVA is blistering, explosive, and fueled by fearsome violence of action. Trashy guitar licks oscillate through the small space, with Salerno’s off-kilter, heatseeking drums holding the whole precarious affair together. Joice twists and coils around the mic, forcing every last syllable out until he crumples, only to reinflate and explode again.”
Highlights
Shared stage with:
The Mummies, Horse Lords, Liturgy, Kap Bambino,