There’s no definable A or B side to this gorgeous red-and-gray split 7-inch, so let’s continue our foray into Blackness first. Portland’s the Black Black Black is probably the loudest act on the Boy Gorilla label, and frontman Devin Gallagher usually pens lyrical darkness to accompany the riffage.

That trend continues with “I’m Social, I Was Born With a Taste For Blood,” the BBB’s primary contribution to this split. The drums are ’90s-hardcore overdriven, creating epic white-noise crescendos over which Gallagher sings like an off-his-meds Kurt Cobain—screechy and melodramatic but smart. On “I’m Not That Special,” Gallagher spits an indie rock rap a la Modest Mouse, ending with “Everyone knows that brutality is boring.”

As if to underscore Mr. Gallagher’s closing point, Seattle duo the Last Slice of Butter’s side of the 7-inch opens with a calm, largely instrumental math-rock number, “Mr. Cat,” before moving into the more intense (overdriven drums!) “Glossa.” When vocals do pop up, they’re brief and Fugazi-esque: “We gave it away/ The right to dream/ I gave it away/ We’re not thinking.” Drum-and-bass duos always get compared to the Melvins and it’s just not fair: Seattle’s Last Slice of Butter makes arty hardcore (artcore?) for people who have long since moved on past their hardcore phase.