’68

The Arc of ’68

The pivots — what forced ’68 to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Post-Chariot Shock

   Right after burying The Chariot in late 2013, Scogin dropped the 'Midnight' EP and cut 'In Humor and Sadness' with Michael McClellan. They tracked the record with an aggressive, live-in-the-room urgency to prove a guitar-and-drums duo could hit harder than a five-piece hardcore outfit. It put the heavy music scene on notice that Scogin wasn't mellowing out — he was just stripping out the dead weight.

2. 02

   The Studio Expansion

   By 2017's 'Two Parts Viper', the raw two-piece formula cracked open to let weird studio experiments and layered dynamics breathe. Scogin worked with producer Matt Goldman to inject brass, pianos, spoken-word interludes, and off-kilter grooves into the blast-furnace riffs. The record proved '68 was a legitimate songwriting project rather than just a live noise spectacle.

3. 03

   The Nick Raskulinecz Sessions

   Locking in with arena-rock producer Nick Raskulinecz at Rock Falcon Studio gave 2021's 'Give One Take One' a massive, bone-dry low end. The record hit during a lineup transition behind the kit, forcing Scogin to double down on tight, riff-heavy Southern groove over sheer feedback. It delivered their punchiest, most direct swing without sanding off the lunatic edge.

Influences

• Nirvana — Scogin has repeatedly cited In Utero as the benchmark for raw, abrasive pop sensibility captured on tape. You hear it in the volatile quiet-loud dynamics and Scogin's unhinged, raspy vocal delivery. It is the blueprint for making noise hooks that stick.
• The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion — Jon Spencer laid down the foundational rulebook for bastardizing traditional Delta blues into chaotic, feedback-drenched punk. '68 borrows that exact swagger, treating vintage blues licks like combustible fuel. It is the connective tissue between roots rock and outright noise.
• The White Stripes — Jack White wrote the manual on how a minimalist garage duo could sound massive through amp-splitting and relentless fuzz. Scogin lifted that structural setup and pushed it to hardcore volume levels. You hear the lineage in the trashy stomp rhythms and stripped-down arrangements.
• Refused — The boundary-pushing ethos of 'The Shape of Punk to Come' directly informed Scogin's willingness to throw brass, electronics, and spoken-word into heavy guitar music. The off-time jazz breaks and explosive transitions across 'Two Parts Viper' trace straight back to Dennis Lyxzén and company. They showed heavy bands how to be weird on purpose.
• The Jesus Lizard — David Yow's unhinged, spoken-to-screamed vocal presence and Duane Denison's jagged riffing are all over Scogin's guitar work. You hear it in the discordant slide playing and claustrophobic rhythm section interplay. It is pure Midwestern noise-rock tension.