Messthetics, The

***Anthropocosmic Nest is the second full-length by Washington, D.C.’s THE MESSTHETICS, who are ANTHONY PIROG (LOW WAYS QUARTET), JOE LALLY (FUGAZI) and BRENDAN CANTY (FUGAZI, DEATHFIX). Recorded at the band’s practice space throughout 2019, it’s an album that more perfectly captures the trio’s current live dynamic, complete with improvisational tangents, playful experimentation, and cathartic sprawl. When The Messthetics recorded their debut album in 2017, the trio had only done a handful of shows and had yet to fully find its footing on stage. In a way, those compositions were a template for the band that Pirog, Lally, and Canty hoped would come into being through subsequent work on the road. Since then, The Messthetics have played upwards of 200 shows across the US, Europe and Asia. Their dialog as a performing unit has necessarily focused and intensified. As a result, Anthropocosmic Nest offers a more varied vision of the band. It’s the loudest the trio has ever been and also the quietest.