Absenter

Absenter is five people from Seattle who play post-hardcore loud enough to rattle your fillings (in theory, anyway; we're still waiting on a sound guy who actually understands our aesthetic). The band formed in late 2024 when Ed Carrigan (guitar), Jeff Bettger (bass), and Matt Johnson (drums) (veterans of Ninety Pound Wuss, DRYBNZ, Blenderhead, Don't Know, Raft of Dead Monkeys, Roadside Monument, and The Damien Jurado, Inc.) got together mostly to screw around. The plan was “straight-ahead punk band.” That plan survived about one practice before hardcore, post-punk, and riffs so big, hard, and blunt they might as well be compensating for something took over. William Quimby (Harkonnen) joined on second guitar and Elisha Nottingham (Cussing, New Age Healers) came in on vocals, rounding out the current five-piece, and practice-space hilarity ensued.

We didn't reinvent rock music. We're middle-aged and tired of pretending our music projects are a big deal. The influences are 80s hardcore, 90s D.C.-style post-hardcore, and riffs we hope are big enough to need their own zip code. Other bands do this too, probably better, and we've made peace with that.

We play the Pacific Northwest regularly, at a volume some venues have opinions about, and just released a three-song EP that covers the range, chaos, and musical amateurism in roughly equal parts. Come see us, or catch us on the internet, where we're statistically much calmer.