Rhododendron – “Like Spitting Out Copper”

Rhododendron builds landscapes that feel both intricate and inhospitable. Their new single, “Like Spitting Out Copper,” is a four-minute survey of that terrain, a compact but dense piece of prog-metal architecture that serves as the first look at their forthcoming album ‘Ascent Effort’.

The track operates on a logic of deliberate unease. It doesn’t so much progress as it corrodes and reconstitutes itself. Guitar lines coil around a rhythm section that seems to be drilling downward, while Ezra Chong’s vocals are a raw, guttoral force pushed to the front of the mix. The production here is dry and close, making every rhythmic shift and dissonant chord feel physical, like the title’s metallic taste.

Reportedly the first song written for the album after a relocation to Eugene, it carries the weight of a pivot point. You can hear the band testing the load-bearing capacity of their own sound, stacking complex riffs and abrupt dynamic drops without the structure collapsing into chaos. There’s a controlled violence to it, a sense of evolution being hammered out in real time.

As a standalone single, it’s a demanding listen that refuses to offer a clean, anthemic release. Its value is in its stubborn density and the clear intent behind its construction. For those attuned to Rhododendron’s particular brand of Northwestern heaviness, it functions less as a hook and more as a coordinates check, plotting a course for the longer journey of ‘Ascent Effort’ next month.