Longings‘ demo is yet another great release in what seems like a extremely fertile stretch for post-punk, with great recent releases from bands like Arctic Flowers, Flesh World, and Criminal Code, who all mine similar darkly melodic post-punk territory in their own unique ways. Longings, by virtue of featuring several members of the greatly-missed Ampere bring some of their old band’s more post-hardcore leanings to the table, putting their own spin on this sound. And just like that band, what really stands out here is the insanely creative guitar work. Not to say that the rhythm section is any weaker, as they lay down a tight, driving, and heavy foundation that allows the guitar to do some more exploratory maneuvers. Along with the guitar work, I really dig the dual male and female vocals on this thing; having two vocalists this compelling truly does add some great dimension to their sound. And at parts, you can also sense the influence of those great Scandinavian melodic punk bands like Gorilla Angreb, Vanna Inget, or Masshysteri. All four songs are really strong, but I especially dig the first song “Possession Mortality.” This is an exciting demo, and I’m hoping that Longings will have some new material coming out soon. It doesn’t look like Twerp Records has any more of these tapes, but Longings are generous to offer the release for free on their bandcamp, so go check it out.