Album Review: Persona [EP] by Gel

Hardcore’s experiencing a tidal wave right now. Knocked Loose and Turnstile created golden viral moments by tearing rooms in half with their riffs, former NME Cover stars Militarie Gun are hanging out with Post Malone, and Scowl transformed last year’s Coachella into Scowlchella. Although California’s been particularly fertile ground for hardcore, the East Coast’s keeping pace with New Jersey’s Gel as one of their most notable torchbearers..

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In the roughly year and a half since Only Constant, Gel barely came up for air. The New Jersey hardcore punks scooped up new drummer Alex Salter, toured nonstop, and signed to a new record label, Blue Grape. Life was so busy that Gel had to wedge themselves into a remote cabin to hash out new songs before their tour schedule swallowed them whole. Once there, they heeded the advice that closed out Only Constant: “Navigate boldly, act with intent.” Those sessions birthed a five-song EP, Persona, that’s bigger and bolder than anything they’ve recorded before. But in true Gel fashion, the freaks are top of mind..

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After exploding on the scene in 2019 with a single and continuing to build buzz and followers from there, GEL have been having a moment since the release of last year’s Only Constant, one of the best hardcore records of that year. Relentless touring to bigger and bigger crowds and across -the-board praise from the press has primed them for yet another leap, and they triumph on Persona, a blistering five-track EP that showcases the band’s desire to stretch the boundaries of hardcore. They self-applied the descriptor Hardcore for the Freaks, and this is five more songs for the initiated to love that seems primed to break them to an even bigger audience.

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The first track on Gel's new EP Persona may be called "Mirage," but there's nothing insubstantial or illusory about the band's music. Gel is making heavy sounds that hit hard -- still dedicated to the freaks, but the thuggy bros in the pit will likely be digging these songs, too. Persona has a more muscular production, and it's a gut-level event. None of that is meant to suggest that the band's earlier releases (including last year's terrific Only Constant) were subtle affairs.

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