Katër Mass is set to release Circles, the follow-up to its 2012 debut [kaht-ur mahs], later this month via Added Warmth/Pizza Tomb. The album's 11 tracks will delight fans of the sneakily melodic strain of post-hardcore that emerged from the East Coast in the mid-'90s; Katër Mass' urgent, emotionally resonant brand of punk rock has more than a little bit in common with that of genre linchpins like Hot Water Music and Rise Against. In the local band's case, it's all offset by a gleefully goofy attitude that peeks through at unexpected moments but never distracts from the mission at hand.

Below, check out an exclusive stream of "Brain Dead," the first track from Circles, which was recorded by Mike Albanese at local studio Espresso Machine and mastered by sound wizard Joel Hatstat. As an added bonus for longtime Flagpole readers, the song features the (unwitting and angry) vocal talents of a certain music columnist.

Says singer and guitarist Tim Gill:

When I was completing my master's degree in sociology at Cleveland State in Cleveland, OH, I was delivering oxygen tanks for a home medical business three days a week, living at my parents' house and sleeping in my high school bedroom, which is filled with, among other items, about 300 horror and sci-fi films on VHS… In some ways, I felt caught between the two worlds of working a presumably dead-end job, playing music with my friends, watching horror and sci-fi films and hanging out all the time, and, on the other hand, studying and reading to the point of exhaustion, going to grad school and preparing to move somewhere else (eventually Athens), pursue a doctoral degree and become an academic. I think I eventually found a balance, but my mid-to-late 20s have been filled with this tension between being a responsible citizen that goes to bed early and lives a relatively quiet life and prioritizing playing loud music, staying up late hanging out with friends and spending my free time watching B-movies. Overall, it's a reflection on what truly makes me feel whole, healthy and happy.