CHORE – “KING”
SONIC UNYON RECORDS
Dunnville, Ontario’s Chore are back after two decades with Oswego Park, a tightly wound, deeply personal fourth album brimming with post-hardcore intensity, progressive structures, and raw emotion. Out now via Sonic Unyon Records, the record follows previously released single “Cowards Can” and highlights the menacing, riff-heavy “King” – a song that channels the pressures of modern life through a lens of chaotic energy and self-reflection.
While “King” may be one of the record’s most aggressive and angular moments, Oswego Park is anything but one-note. Across its sprawling tracklist, the album ricochets from pummeling math-metal intricacies to brooding alt-rock atmospherics, from knotty time signatures to soaring melodic payoffs. Written and recorded intermittently between 2017 and 2022 – and shaped in part by the global pandemic – the record captures Chore 2.0 working purely for the love of the craft.
The album’s title is a nod to a small rural subdivision halfway between Dunnville and Smithville, Ontario – a hub of childhood mischief and friendship for brothers Chris (guitar/vocals) and Mike Bell (bass guitar) and a point of connection with Dunham.
Recorded/mixed by former bandmate Mitch Bowden at Mechanical Noise Studio and produced by the band, Oswego Park benefits from both deep-rooted camaraderie and the technical freedom of modern home recording. “Mitch has the ability to make everything he touches better,” says Chris. “It was the most relaxed and enjoyable studio experience I’ve ever had.”
Though the band has no plans to return to full-time touring, they’ll mark the release with a special one-off performance in Hamilton, Ontario – their first in over 20 years.
ARTIST QUOTE
“We’ve finally made the record we were always trying to make when we were kids. If that’s all this reunion ends up being, I’m more than happy. Everything else is gravy.”
Chore
Oswego Park
(Sonic Unyon Records)
Release Date: September 5, 2025
Artist Links
SPILL VIDEO PREMIERE: PAUL MANCHIN – “KING”
