Thatcher at Eclectic on Friday, September 12. From left: Alex Lee ’17 on drums, Chris Gortmaker ’17 on bass, Jesse Cohen ’17 on guitar, and Ryan Breen ’17 on vocals and guitar. Photo by Noah Mertz ’17.

Although sophomore band Thatcher (Ryan Breen ’17, Jesse Cohen ’17, Chris Gortmaker ’17, Alex Lee ’17) has been floating around for nearly a year, cycling through different lineups and names, an energetic show at Eclectic on Friday, September 12th—one of the best I’ve been to here, by far—and the simultaneous release of their first EP has solidified their presence in the Wesleyan music scene.

Thatcher’s been described as “the post-iest punk band on campus” and informally, to me, as “rad as fuck.” Their fuzzy first single, “For Today,” offered the first tastes of the band’s sharp blend of post-rock and unhinged emotions that makes you wanna headbang for catharsis. Intertwined guitar lines and fearful words of alienation dance around each other in “Plastic Mouth.” One of the most melodic songs on the EP, “Squalor,” revels in the complicated dirt of human existence while the heavy and enjoyably off-putting “Wreck” shows off ripping bass and drum lines. (Those two tracks are my favorites.) The EP ends with “Future Tense,” a scream-y jam with the thrashiest build-up of them all.

I sat down with Thatcher last week to interview them, but since they answered all my questions before I actually had to ask them, I just got to sit around and listen to four friends tell me their stories. Read on about Thatcher’s new EP, influences, and evolution, but also about their collective spirit animal and whether or not they secretly hate each other.