Review: New EP "Bitter" by Split Silk - Raw and Hard Hitting

After releasing two EPs in 2023, Atlanta’s Split Silk returns with more “sad girl post-hardcore” on their new EP Bitter, released September 10, 2024.

Long-time fans will recognize the desperate edge of Lucca Cassandra Carver’s (she/her) vocal stylings and guitar work. Drummer Will Agent Morris (they/them) and bassist Lucia Alejandra Careno (she/her) pair perfectly with Carver on two new tracks recorded by Al Daglis in the Poolhouse.

From the opening squelch of feedback to the tight, frenetic pace of the intro, the first ten seconds of Bitter’s title track preview the energy and rawness that will permeate the entire four-song EP.

Carver’s pleading vocals only serve to amplify the sense of frantic energy. In the midst of what feels like a mad-cap sprint, the track’s two down-tempo bridges offer a momentary respite—just long enough to catch a breath before a chorus that begs the listener to shout along:

I wanna know, I wanna touch,
I wanna reach into the back of your skull

I wanna know, I wanna touch,
I wanna be bitter again in your head

"Bitter" by Split Silk

The last minute of “Bitter” is the highlight of the album. The intro riff—with its punchy speed—returns before the band opens up into four measures of joyous breakdown, culminating in one final chance to scream the chorus. This is music that makes you want to lose yourself as you shout along in a sweaty crowd.

The second track, “Glimmer,” opens with simple four-note bassline over guitars strummed and left to ring, reminiscent of a Midwest Emo track from the 90’s.

Above these Mineral-esque vibes, Carver’s spoken vocals are a portrait of vulnerability as she weaves a tale of longing. Of love unaccepted and the weight that comes from holding the ghost of someone worthwhile. Tender speech gives way to raw anguish as Carver shouts a chorus of lament, singing:

See the years pass by
without another scene of dying regret
another broken cage, feel my pleading embrace

"Glimmer" by Split Silk

In the ensuing bridge, Carver encapsulates the spirit of the track and captures something of humanity’s deep-rooted need for connection as she cries “I want to see a hand in mine.” The second verse promises future devotion. “I am the castle…guiding you home.” Like the distant glimmer of a lighthouse, Carver shines and hopes to be seen by their other half. As the song roars to a close, we get to the crux:

When are you going to accept
my soul, from the chase?
I wanna know your face.

"Glimmer" by Split Silk

The titular glimmer is not hope, exactly. We lament the passing of time—time wasted apart—but a future reunification is assumed. One day, regrets will die as two halves become whole. Until then, our glimmer lights the way home.

In addition to the new tracks, the EP also features live versions of previously released songs recorded by the Ops staff at WUOG 90.5FM.

The first of these, “Attune,” will resonate with anyone who grew up under that special blend of religious self-denial and “southern hospitality” that teaches so many of us—but especially women—to silence their own desires and focus on others.

It is a song about “a path to break free and honor myself” and of learning to attune not just to the needs of others, but to “the reflection whose gaze I ignored.”

Careno’s driving bassline pairs perfectly with Morris’s drums as the track pushes towards its final plea—presumably directed inward, at values too ingrained to be easily left behind: “Listen. Please. I want to reach me.”

Listen. Please. I want to reach me.

"Attune" by Split Silk

The final track, “Ocean Heart,” is in many ways the culmination of the EP as a whole. We see echoes of “Bitter” in lyrics regretting the loss of a lover: “wish you were here on my chest, so you couldn’t drift far.”

As Carver sings of a letter tossed into the sea, we are reminded of “Glimmer” and open invitations for the lost to return. In the last line, “I felt seen for the first time and I honor that gift with my life for you,” the focus shifts inward—the message in the bottle is not “come home,” but is rather an acknowledgment of an internal truth.

After three tracks that so deftly convey the desire to be felt and seen and free, it is a refreshing end an album that is definitely worth your time.

Bitter hits hard, musically and emotionally, and deserves a spot in your fall rotation. Snag it on tape from Tomb Tree Tapes, listen on Bandcamp, or on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

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