The Sound of You Laughing by ThxSoMch
'The Sound of You Laughing' by ThxSoMch
One cliché about punk rock is that it’s more an attitude than a sound. It might be truer to think of punk rock as an ethos: a determination to make rock ‘n’ roll entirely on one’s own terms. ThxSoMch has that determination.
Also known as Carter De Filippis, the Toronto singer-songwriter builds upon hundreds of millions of streams of his 2022 single, “Spit in My Face!” with The Sound of You Laughing, a debut album that converts post-adolescent insecurity and nervous energy into earworm intensity.
Recorded mostly in Brazil with “Spit” producer Grayskies (Vinícius Massashi Honda Takada), the album forms a candy-colored shell around a raw, pulsing center. Disposing of the semi-parodic English accent of “Spit” and the Wanda Jacksonian pitch of other earlier songs, ThxSoMch now often sings as if he is Trent Reznor’s younger brother.
That resemblance is especially evident on “A Sharp Pain,” in which every guitar note is distorted, every drumbeat is industrial and fuzzed-out, and every line indicates physical and mental decay amid twisted affirmations of faith.
ThxSoMch also recalls and reconfigures the Cure—circa 1987’s Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me—with the briskly brittle New Wave of “Keep It to Yourself”; singes a few hairs while stealing an ember or two from the psychobilly fire of the Cramps on “Bad Dream”; and utilizes some of emo’s sexual fluidity to duet with himself on “Awfully Sad.”
As if their stage names weren’t enough indication, though, ThxSoMch and Grayskies make it clear they take in their influences with ultramodern ears. Both “Would You?” and the title track have the airtight slickness of Soundcloud pop, and the vocal tones have as much in common with Perfume Genius as with Nine Inch Nails.
All this seems to be done with intention. The Sound of You Laughing is the sound ThxSoMch wants to make. Punk enough for 2025.
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