I wanna run, I wanna hide
When I tried to fix you, it made me die
No joy, only pain
Never asked for much, just what it takes
A burden, a caress, and then nothing more: the title of Hungarian outfit Choke City’s latest EP reduces the course of a damaged relationship to three stark stages. Across these songs, devotion becomes obligation, physical desire offers temporary relief, and familial love reaches the point where survival requires a departure. The Budapest quartet gives each emotional state its own weight, moving between post-punk, shoegaze, and heavy alternative rock while maintaining a remarkably unified atmosphere.
Released through Budapest’s Corbata Records, Burden. Caress. Nothing More. finds vocalist Richárd Géczi, guitarist Barnabás Kiss, bassist Szabolcs Szűcs, and drummer Gáspár Binder working with density and scale. Their music feels physically imposing, though its force comes as much from accumulated emotion as from volume. Guitars spread across the mix in broad sheets, the bass establishes a dark romantic pull, and Binder’s drums give even the quietest passages a sense of approaching consequence.
“The Burden of Serving You” opens beneath thick drums, strummed chords, and sustained guitar tones. Géczi initially sings with wounded tenderness, describing devotion as something holy that has gradually become unbearable. His repeated admission that serving another person has overwhelmed him gives the song its central conflict: love remains sacred even after it has become a form of submission.
As the arrangement rises, Géczi’s voice gains power and the track expands into a cascade of guitars and percussion. Choke City wisely interrupt that ascent about two-thirds of the way through. A few sparse strokes across the guitar strings leave the singer momentarily exposed, underlining the shame and exhaustion running through the lyrics. When the full band returns, the emotional release feels earned rather than automatic.
“Caress,” featuring St. Martin, begins with a metallic bass melody before drums and droning shoegaze guitars fill the available space. The guitars quiver inside the distortion while the vocal remains close and clear, delivering the song’s invitation with sensual confidence and a trace of alt-rock sleaze. Its language is tactile—silk, honey, closed eyes, hands—and the directness provides a welcome change after the self-sacrifice of the opening track.
The repeated “Believe me” marks a striking turn. The bassline acquires a Cure-like romantic sweep, changing the song’s temperature without disturbing its heaviness. Seduction gives way to surrender, and the caress promised by the title begins to carry its own risk. Desire here offers intimacy, though the music suggests how easily intimacy can become another loss of control.
The closing “Nothing More” begins with distorted guitar that seems to be playing through an old Victrola. That murky transmission soon clears, preserving the same strummed figure as the band opens into a dreamy alt-rock ballad. Géczi’s breathy vocal sits high in the mix while guitar accents pass through the central melody like gusts through heavy rain.
The lyrics shift from romantic entanglement toward a painful confrontation between a son and a parent. The singer recalls trying to rescue someone from what they had become, only to be pushed away and left wondering whether their relationship had ever been honest. His recurring question—whether the other person ever cried as he still does—carries anger, grief, and a final appeal for recognition.
Near the midpoint, a sustained guitar figure intensifies the song’s sorrow before the arrangement swells around it. The instruments grow larger while the vocal remains fragile above them, creating a severe contrast between inner vulnerability and outward force. By the final declaration, leaving has become a necessity. There is no victory in the decision, only the knowledge that remaining would continue the damage.
Choke City describe their current work as a break with their musical past, and this EP supports that sense of renewal. Since 2021, the band have released a full-length album alongside eight singles and EPs, as well as a live set recorded at the House of Arts in Szekszárd. Here, their various influences settle into a focused language of their own. Burden. Caress. Nothing More. traces three forms of surrender, ending at the difficult moment when letting go becomes the last available act of love.
Listen to the Burden. Caress. Nothing More. EP below, and order it here.
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