Hundredth - Topic

Hundredth have built a career on transformation, embracing change as their most defining trait. Over the past decade, the South Carolina-based band have forged a reputation for pushing boundaries, evolving their sound with each new album as if stepping into a new world. From their ferocious hardcore roots to the lush, immersive shoegaze of RARE—which landed on Stereogum’s 50 Best Albums of 2017 list—to the shimmering, cinematic synthpop of Somewhere Nowhere, each release has felt like the birth of a different band. Hundredth have explored a kaleidoscope of genres with unrelenting curiosity. Each era truly feels like a new identity—sometimes bruising, sometimes beautiful, but always unrelenting in its desire to move forward.

Now, after five years in the dark, they return with Faded Splendor—a vivid collision of post-punk urgency and widescreen indie rock. The album draws from decades of alternative influence: the angular pulse of early-2000s revival, the brooding intensity of ‘80s UK post-punk, the anthemic shimmer of ‘90s alt-rock, and the atmospheric drift of dream pop—with a touch of alt-country flickering in the margins, perhaps just a symptom of growing up in the South. But it isn’t nostalgia—it’s propulsion.