THE ATOMIC BOMB AUDITION: Bay Area auteurs return with towering new post-metal album "Future Mirror"; first single "Render" streaming now
From Oakland, California, The Atomic Bomb Audition announces the December 9th release of new album Future Mirror – a towering new work of art and the band's first release in nearly a decade.
Stream Future Mirror's first single, "Render," here: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/the-atomic-bomb-audition/
Founded in 2004, The Atomic Bomb Audition labeled its earliest work as "music for films that don’t exist." Debut album Eleven Theaters was a 72-minute journey through bursts of avant-rock and pastoral interludes, informed heavily by directors such as David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick and by film composers such as Angelo Badalamenti and Ennio Morricone.
With three of its four members honing their compositional skills at Mills College, a school that has counted experimental music legends John Cage, Steve Reich, and Pauline Oliveros amongst its faculty, the quartet continued to indulge its sprawling, cinematic tendencies in the years that followed. 2008's Light Will Remain contained a 19-minute pair of tracks titled "Copernicus: apogee" and "Copernicus: perigee," for example, and 2012's How to Dismantle a U2 featured a faithful cover of Pink Floyd's entire "Echoes" epic. Yet, during this time, gems like "Bas (part 2)," a concise, metallic anthem of Baroness-worthy rapture, also appeared. From the realms of gleeful experimentation, truly stunning songs began to emerge.
Inspiration was everywhere. "The Bay Area is woven deeply into our DNA," says guitarist/vocalist Alee Karim. "We were all attracted to the weird rock heritage of the region, from artists like Faith No More to Sleep. These visionary artists, following a muse, commercial potential be damned. We were also influenced by the geography and the esoteric roots of Northern California. You can’t deny that divinity lurks in these lands. You feel that when you’re walking amongst redwoods, or looking out at the Pacific on a clear day."
New heights were reached with 2014's Infinite Fires EP. Soaring vocal harmonies, radiant guitar leads, sludge-doom weight, and end-times tension converged in a recording that documents just how far this band had come. Ten years since its inception, The Atomic Bomb Audition had evolved to a state where its most progressive aspirations were channeled into the creation of timeless rock.
Now, another decade later, the new album, Future Mirror, picks up where Infinite Fires left us. Future Mirror is a masterpiece of mourning and triumph. Meticulously crafted, without a shred of excess, the songs glisten. Unpredictable and enthralling, they unfold magically toward inevitable ends. The paths are circuitous but the outcomes are perfect.
"This album is a distillation of what we’ve done in the past," states drummer Brian Gleeson. "More focused, more intentional. A 'less is more' approach, throughout."
Across Future Mirror's eight tracks, impressionistic layers of prog rock, heavy metal, and new wave are melded into new forms, transcending genres. Like the best progressive music, it is not merely an intellectual win, it is a visceral one. Future Mirror punches the gut while exciting the mind.
First single "Render" opens the album like an ecstatic, slow-motion leap off a cliff. A dirge-like pulse, victorious melodies, and bassist/vocalist Jason Hoopes' falsetto unite in an unforgettable, five-minute call-to-arms. Hoopes reveals the concept behind the song: "It’s about the discovery and acceptance of yourself as you are, not as you wish you were or how you’d like others to see you. About casting off adolescent fantasies, picking up the flag of your own nature and running joyfully into the battle of life. It’s anti-escapist."
"Render" is one part of a story that runs through the entire album. True to its roots, The Atomic Bomb Audition has created an album that plays out like a film. "It is about the cycle of death and rebirth," states Karim. "It’s very much programmed to be listened to all the way through, to symbolize that journey."
Future Mirror was recorded by Kowloon Walled City's Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios with additional recording and all mixing by the band's own The Norman Conquest, whose credits as a recording engineer include Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, and Blixa Bargeld. The album was mastered by Andrew Weathers.
The Atomic Bomb Audition has played with the likes of Author & Punisher, Kayo Dot, The Body, and Dysrhythmia. Stand by for news of the band's next shows.
Tracklist:
1) Render
2) Night Vision
3) WNGTIROTSCHDB
4) Dream Flood
5) Golden States, Pt. 1
6) ...Spells
7) Haunted Houses
8) More Light
Lineup:
Alee Karim - guitar, vocals
Jason Hoopes - bass, vocals
Brian Gleeson - drums, waterphone, destroyed piano, field recordings, Yamaha DX21 organ synthesizer, vocals
The Norman Conquest - synthesizers, Wurlitzer, Hammond B3, ARP 2600, Farfisa, ARP Solina, Prophet 5, Eurorack modular, vocals
Discography:
Eleven Theaters (2006, Hector Stentor)
Light Will Remain (2008, self-released)
Roots Into the See (2011, self-released)
How to Dismantle a U2 (2012, self-released)
Infinite Fires (2013, self-released)
Future Mirror (2022, Fifth Wizard)
Photo of The Atomic Bomb Audition, by Rex Mananquil
Cover art by Brian Gleeson
