Hardcore band Soul Glo will play at Howard Theatre on Sept. 29

Soul Glo begins its latest album with an approximation of the 20th Century Studios intro rhythm delivered via water bong rip. Then, a familiar refrain: “Can I live?” singer Pierce Jordan shouts in an increasingly desperate appeal. A nod to the classic Jay-Z track, the lyric could be heard as a plea either for mercy from an economically prohibitive and racist system or for the freedom to live authentically (or both).

“I just wanted to feel like a whole person through making music,” Jordan said on a Zoom call he took on his phone. It was the day before the band’s tour began, and he was driving through Philadelphia, “taking care of some stuff.” (Editor’s note: The Post does not condone Zooming while driving.)

That genuineness is essential on “Diaspora Problems,” an album that thrashes its way through topics like generational trauma, police brutality and hypocrisy in left-wing communities — and though the lyrics read on paper like poetry or a rallying call, they’re delivered over visceral, blunt-force hardcore.

Advertisement

Soul Glo’s latest landed on several lists of the best albums last year, including those from the Guardian, NPR and Pitchfork. But growing up in Calvert County, Md. (before his move to the City of Brotherly Love), Jordan said he felt ostracized as a Black kid with a passion for metal. “I was not really validated in terms of who I was and my interests. It was conflicting for people,” he said. But it never felt discordant to him. “Why would you limit yourself? Everything should be on the table.”

As a trio, Soul Glo, which formed in 2014 and also includes GG Guerra on guitar and TJ Stevenson on drums, has benefited from that versatility, zigzagging its discography from twinkly guitars to experimental hip-hop. “It’s not really a thing bands were doing back then, even though it was only 10 years ago,” Jordan said. “Bands were still suffering from that one-of-two-sides mentality.”

In a physical manifestation that proves this fusion paid off, Soul Glo was invited to play this year’s Coachella music festival, something Jordan had joked about for years because, “Why would our band ever be invited to play Coachella?” To help with his stage fright — and for the laughs — he donned a black mask and bathrobe, which he later removed to reveal an outfit approximating a naked Barbie. “The mask was the true key to the depersonalization thing because I couldn’t see out of it,” he said. “That made me feel very safe, in a weird way.”

Advertisement

It’s another example of Soul Glo doing things its own way, regardless of what Jordan called the “naysayers” — both from different sides of DIY alternative communities and from people within the band who “were unsure of their own power.”

“I’m just trying to be true to my natural thought process, which is very chaotic and overwhelming,” he said, laughing and watching the road from behind the steering wheel. “I get told I’m crazy a lot, but it’s fine. I am crazy.”

Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. at Howard Theatre, 620 T St. NW. thehowardtheatre.com. $20-$40.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLGkecydZK%2BZX2d9c3%2BOaXBoamdkwLDBy2aepaddmbBur86nmp6qpGQ%3D