If you were trying to take a virtual stroll through Beijing’s historic hutong neighborhoods while at the same time having your eardrums blasted by some crossover hardcore, Beijing’s Struggle Session have just released a music video that’ll scratch that particular itch.
We open on the living room of an unassuming Beijing youth, decked out in the telltale windbreaker of a typical Chinese public school student (portrayed by Yu Yang of Beijing punk band Xiao Wang). Headphones on, she smashes “play” on Struggle Session’s June 2018 split with São Paulo grindcore band T.E.S.T., and suddenly four gnarly dudes and their instruments start tailing her around various scenic inner-city locales before ending in debauchery at School Bar, ground zero for Beijing punk today.
Though the song was released last summer ahead of Struggle Session’s lengthy South America tour, the video was released yesterday ahead of their latest overseas jaunt — ever the itinerant road dogs, the band has just touched down in Australia, where they’re about to kick off a nine-date tour. Catch the schedule here if you’re in Oz, and read more about Struggle Session’s jagged path through China’s DIY punk scene here:
