SHADOW AGE x Xör

SHADOW AGE: Xör gives techno boost to post-punks' mesmerizing new single "Ours"

Back in action after a 5-year hiatus, Richmond, Virginia post-punks Shadow Age officially drop their Ours EP, this Friday, December 1st via Play Alone Records. The EP includes the mesmerizing new single “Ours” and several remixes from some of the band’s close comrades. Amongst these remixers is Xör, the solo project of Matthew of North Carolina band Secret Shame. Xör’s remix laces the lush, melancholy song with energized techno trappings. Stream it now exclusively via New Noise: https://newnoisemagazine.com/premieres/track-premiere-shadow-age-ours-xor-dream-mix/

Order the “Ours” EP on cassette via Play Alone Records: https://playalonerecords.com/products/shadow-age-ours-cassette-ep

A recent article on Post-Punk.com reports: "Emerging from a five-year hiatus with renewed energy and a fresh perspective, Richmond, Virginia’s post-punk outfit Shadow Age returns... 'Ours' is an emotional anthem that features Tyree’s powerful vocals, set against a danceable drumbeat and complemented by reverb-drenched guitars and keys. The song serves as a dreamlike tribute to resilience in the face of heartbreak, and is sure to move anyone who listens." 

Having just returned home from a full US tour, Shadow Age's return to the scene is being rejoiced by old fans and welcomed by newcomers familiar with the likes of Twin Tribes and Vosh, with whom they shared stages these past few weeks. 

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/10/shadow-age-ours.html 

Photo by Cat McCarthy

OLDEST SEA - "The Machines That Made Us Old"

OLDEST SEA: ethereal doom auteurs reveal new track "The Machines That Made Us Old"

One week away from the release of its new album, A Birdsong, A Ghost, Oldest Sea has revealed another one of the album’s stunning tracks. 

Stream “The Machines That Made Us Old” now via No Clean Singing: https://www.nocleansinging.com/2023/11/24/an-ncs-premiere-oldest-sea-the-machines-that-made-us-old/

From rural New Jersey, Oldest Sea is centered around the married couple of Samantha and Andrew Marandola. The two summon haunting, heartbreaking, ethereal doom; influences range from the funeral doom of Mournful Congregation, to avant-garde composer William Basinski and iconic vocalists such as Björk and Roy Orbison.

From vulnerable quavering to all-powerful soaring, Samantha’s crystalline vocals fully captivate. She describes the new album as "an expression of feminine rage, grief, and transformation... one long primal scream.”

No Clean Singing reports: “It’s a wholly transportive experience of contrasts and complements, a union of the ethereal and the staggeringly heavy. The spell it casts is heart-breaking and chilling, but in the music it feels like the bedrock of the earth is heaving and fracturing too.”

The album will be released via Darkest Records, the label owned by Jordan Cozza of HUSH.

Pre-order, here: https://oldestsea1.bandcamp.com/album/a-birdsong-a-ghost

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/10/oldest-sea-birdsong-ghost.html

400 BLOWS - Black Rainbow

400 BLOWS: Reptilian Records reissues iconic LA noise rockers' "Black Rainbow" double LP for 20th anniversary

Reptilian Records presents the official 20th anniversary reissue of Black Rainbow, the sophomore double-album by 400 Blows.

Available on Black Friday, November 24th, the release also marks Reptilian Records' 34th year in business – an astounding run that has seen founder Chris X position the label as a pillar of the noise rock scene, while consistently bucking trends and following his own ear wherever it leads.

Pre-order, here: https://www.reptilianrecords.com/products/748723-400-blows-black-rainbow-2xlp

Originally released in 2003 and consisting of 16 blistering tracks, 400 Blows' Black Rainbow put forth a vision of noise rock that bridged the gap between the Amphetamine Reptile heyday of the '90s and the fresh, exploratory scene of heaviness emerging in the early '00s, as exemplified by bands like The Locust. In the years that followed, 400 Blows would tour voraciously and release music on the coolest labels of that time, including Gold Standard Laboratories and Buddyhead, but Black Rainbow is where the young Los Angeles band first found its voice.

The music video for Black Rainbow's opening track, "The Root of Our Nature," shows the black-uniformed trio in peak form: vocalist Skot Alexander clad in iconic leather gloves and shades, howling with existential dread and snotty irreverence all at once, with drummer Fernando Cudia and guitarist Christian Moreno grinding out the song's machinelike parts, completely immersed in the mission. 

Stream the video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Uttolr-h8

Vocalist Skot Alexander recalls: "We were going for this stripped-down, abrasive, rhythmic shard-like rock, accompanied by a sort of screamy, manic preacher, adult nursery rhyme-style vocal. Some of the bands we toured with, or shared a stage with, included Big Business, Unsane, At the Drive-In, The Bronx, The Mars Volta, The Locust, Melt-Banana, Mission of Burma, and Butthole Surfers. Needless to say, we played a lot, and we saw ourselves as pirates that traveled from town to town and plundered and pillaged and enjoyed all excesses until we wore ourselves out, both mentally and physically."

A statement from Reptilian Records proclaims: "In the depths of the underground music scene, 400 Blows emerged as a phantom-like trio, armed with a guitar, drums, and vocals, carving their niche in the caustic melting pot of noise rock. The band persevered for a remarkable 15 years, sharing their sonic revelations with anyone willing to lend an ear. Black Rainbow, their enduring masterpiece, resonates with the same vitality it possessed upon its release. Channeling the manic energy of Minneapolis' Hammerhead and infusing it with the economical precision reminiscent of Wire at their most vitriolic, 400 Blows carved a unique path. Poetic and occasionally philosophical, they stood as art house outsiders alongside kindred spirits like US Maple and The Blood Brothers. Released two decades ago in 2003, this double LP, their second offering, marked a pivotal moment. To put in Kubrickian terms, if their debut was the cave-dwelling dawn-of-man era, Black Rainbow is the epoch when they harnessed the bone as a tool, evolved and propelled it into the metaphorical cosmos. This is when they figured out who and what they were and let it rip."

Black Rainbow was originally mastered by John Golden and remastered in 2023 by Arik Victor.

More than a wonderful relic of a bygone time, Black Rainbow is a slab of music with clear connections to the present day. In hindsight, 400 Blows helped provide a foundation from which today's aggro-intelligentsia could spring, its combination of skeletal minimalism, tooth-cracking intensity, raw tones, and dark humor echoed by many bands of the now, from Uniform to Pissed Jeans.

Lineup:
Skot Alexander - vocals
Christian Moreno - guitar
Ferdinand Cudia - drums

Tracklist:
1) The Root Of Our Nature
2) The World's Largest Miniature
3) The Long Wait For Nothing
4) A Man of Many Words
5) The Wrong Song
6) The Shipwrecked Sailor
7) Thinking of You
8) Black Rainbow
9) The Gods Are Laughing At Us
10) The Kids Are Not At Home
11) The Bards Must Drink And Junket
12) The Ugly Are So Beautiful
13) Everyone is Silent
14) Mortar And Pestle
15) Premature Burial
16) The Bull That Killed the Matador

Discography:
3.19.98 (Total Annihilation, 1999)
Black Rainbow (Rehash Records, 2003)
The Sore Thumb EP (Gold Standard Laboratories, 2005)
Angel's Trumpets and Devil's Trombones (Gold Standard Laboratories, Narnack Records, 2005)
The Average Guy (Buddyhead Records, 2006)
Sickness and Health (ORG Music, 2011)

Photo by Toni Wells

SHADOW AGE x Glyphics

SHADOW AGE: Glyphics remix brings techno to post-punks' gorgeous new single "Ours"

Last month, Richmond post-punks Shadow Age dropped “Ours,” their first new single since going on hiatus five years ago. “Ours” is a lush, moody, dancefloor gem, carried by the vocals of frontman Aaron Tyree, and today CVLT Nation has premiered a remix of the track by Glyphics. Glyphics' remix bolsters the gorgeous track with an undercurrent of techno trappings.

Stream the remix, here: https://cvltnation.com/new-wave-shadow-age-ours-glyphics-desire-mix/

Order the “Ours” EP on cassette via Play Alone Records: https://playalonerecords.com/products/shadow-age-ours-cassette-ep

CVLT Nation calls Glyphics' remix of Shadow Age's new song, “an addictive, emotive sonic trip of a song that I keep hitting replay on. I don’t know whether I want to hold myself and sway in pure melancholy, or jump up and dance in pure liberation, but this song has me wanting to do both.”

A recent article on Post-Punk.com reports: "Emerging from a five-year hiatus with renewed energy and a fresh perspective, Richmond, Virginia’s post-punk outfit Shadow Age returns... 'Ours' is an emotional anthem that features Tyree’s powerful vocals, set against a danceable drumbeat and complemented by reverb-drenched guitars and keys. The song serves as a dreamlike tribute to resilience in the face of heartbreak, and is sure to move anyone who listens."

Having just returned home from a full US tour, Shadow Age's return to the scene is being rejoiced by old fans and welcomed by newcomers familiar with the likes of Twin Tribes and Vosh, with whom they shared stages these past few weeks.

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/10/shadow-age-ours.html

Photo by Cat McCarthy

VÆGTLØS

VÆGTLØS: Danish post-metal crew explores death and loss on upcoming new album "Aftryk"; new music video streaming now

From Aalborg, Denmark, new band Vægtløs delivers a sound landing somewhere between the cathartic, blackened metal of Deafheaven, the vast atmospheres of Cult of Luna, and the raw emotions of Birds In Row or Touche Amore. All lyrics are sung in the band's native Danish; the band name translates to English as "weightless."

Silent Pendulum Records will release the band's debut album Aftryk in early 2024, in collaboration with a slew of other labels around the world – 46 in total, to be precise, including the prolific Fiadh Productions.

Pre-order the album here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/products/vaegtlos-aftryk

Stream the official music video for the album's first single, "Ingenting kan forhindre at små struber skælver en forårsnat" – which translates as "Nothing can prevent small voices from trembling on a spring night" – here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d16M1SD1Pi4

The video was directed by Danish artist Jon Gotlev. 

A write-up from Everything Is Noise reports: "While this may be their first release as a band, you’ll come to find that their fusion of post-metal with blackened hardcore embellishments sounds as fantastic and is as emotionally gripping as music from the seasoned, veteran bands within the genre. Their vibrant, cinematic soundscapes beautifully glisten with the intense passion and mourning that is captured within each and every note."

Vocalist Troels Sørensen says this about the album's first single: "My sister-in-law was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2019 and this song was originally intended to be a get-better rally call, but as her life was tragically taken away, the song took a new direction: this song is for her young daughter. Life is beautiful, and that is why it hurts, and we need to take that into account, when life shows its darkest face. Let every memory of people we love remain forever."

Sørenson states that the new album consists entirely of songs about people close to the band who have passed away.

A recent review from No Clean Singing states: "Desperation and grief channeled by the rising and falling melodies and the extreme torment of the screamed vocals. The song slows and softens dramatically, and becomes spellbinding, and then builds again to an emotional storm of powerful intensity (and heartbreak)."

https://instagram.com/vaegtlos/
https://vaegtlos.bandcamp.com/
https://silentpendulumrecords.com/

BRONSON ARM

BRONSON ARM: baritone guitar noise-punks to release debut self-titled album via Learning Curve Records; new track streaming now

Learning Curve Records announces the January 12th release of the self-titled album by Bronson Arm.

Pre-order the album, here: https://learningcurverecords.bandcamp.com/album/s-t

Stream new track "One with the Floor," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uotku46hILc

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, Bronson Arm is the partnership of Blake Bickel and Garrett Yates. Using only voice, drums, and baritone guitar, the pair hammers out a glorious, deconstructed racket that penetrates deep. Says Bickel: "I've always liked the limitations and being forced to fill a space with only two instruments. I feel there is an immediacy and focus that can be unique to two-piece bands."

Together, Bickel and Yates lock into machine-like unison. The attack is percussive and clean, the impact is instant. As Bickel puts it, "When there are drums and only one other instrument, the kick and snare hit hard!" Crystal clear and thunderous, unburdened by any extra layers of sound, Bronson Arm's stripped-down sound goes for the throat. And like a third, unnamed band member, the space within the duo's sparse arrangements has a power all its own.

Yet, beyond the bare-bones battery, there is something else. The round, smooth tones of Bickel's baritone guitar create an effect that is more ominous than fiery. The inherent warmth and haunting presence of the instrument, paired with Yates' almighty smashing, soothes the ear while simultaneously stabbing it. "The baritone guitar felt like an opportunity to explore an instrument I was less comfortable with," states Bickel. "And to open new sonic territories in my brain, while covering as wide a frequency spectrum as possible."

With this unique sound dialed in, the duo proceeds to make songs that are startlingly anthemic. Bronson Arm rocks with the type of edge-of-seat tension and cathartic hooks that those raised on steady diets of Fugazi, Sonic Youth, and The Jesus Lizard will delight in. Taking the less-is-more ethos to new heights, Bronson Arm have succeeded not only in crafting their own sonic niche but in making songs that will stir souls.

Bickel describes the inspiration behind standout track, "One with the Floor": "When I started writing this song I kept on envisioning fog rolling over a dark wooded hill. I wanted to create a sound… a song that evoked a sense of sheer terror and impending doom that slowly crept in and consumed you. I wanted to create a feeling of, 'Oh, fuck. That thing. That thing I dread is starting again. Here it comes.'"

Bronson Arm was mixed by Robert Cheek (Deftones, Band of Horses, Tera Melos) and mastered by Bronson Arm's own Blake Bickel. The album's first five tracks were originally released in 2021 as the Tosser EP; the remaining tracks are brand new and unreleased. 

Though Bronson Arm's minimalist, baritone-driven noise-punk marks the band as an outlier, and its home base of Kalamazoo sets it off the beaten path, Bickel and Yates are, in fact, entrenched in the underground and actively contributing to it. As a mastering engineer, Bickel has put his stamp on recordings by the likes of Soft Kill and Drab Majesty. As the founder of Kalamazoo's DIY venue The Run Off, Yates has hosted recent shows by Child Bite, Kal Marks, and Frail Body. As a band, the two have wowed crowds across the Midwest, including at 2022's Caterwaul Festival, the definitive annual "noisy rock" festival co-founded by Learning Curve Records boss Rainer Fronz. 

Stand by for news of Bronson Arm's next live shows.

Tracklist:
1) Pleasure Brea
2) Hard Pass
3) Tedious Company
4) Conscious Confuser
5) His Ilk
6) Drain the Coffers
7) One with the Floor
8) Patsy Ultima
9) Rabbit Starvation
10) The Devil You Know

Lineup:
Blake Bickel - vocals, baritone guitar
Garrett Yates - drums

Photo by Jacob Ludecker

ECOLOGY: HOMESTONES

ECOLOGY: HOMESTONES: body-horror enigma to release self-titled album via Sleeping Giant Glossolalia; new track "Perfect Francis" streaming now

Sleeping Giant Glossolalia presents the December 15th release of the new, self-titled album from Ecology: HomeStones.

Stream the album's first track, "Perfect Francis," and pre-order the cassette, here: https://sleepinggiantglossolalia.bandcamp.com/album/ecology-homestones-s-t

First surfacing online in 2020, Ecology: HomeStones is a mysterious audio-visual project, allegedly created by The FPPC, an organization whose sole known member is Philadelphia-based sculptor and video director, Dylan Pecora.

On the strength of a series of short, mesmerizing video clips, depicting an alternate world of pulsating flesh entities, strange fluids, and shadowy characters, set to a soundtrack of caustic noise, Ecology: HomeStones has amassed almost 500,000 TikTok followers and 100,000 Instagram followers since its inception.

Confounding, grotesque, and hilarious, Ecology: HomeStones' short videos suggest an elaborate order of arcane processes and corporeal obsessions, calling to mind the works of Matthew Barney and David Lynch, among others. (Those familiar with Pecora's work will see the artist’s fingerprints all over this; their credits include helping create props and puppets for Saturday Night Live and Mystery Science Theater 3000, and birthing wonderfully surreal music videos for artists such as Merzbow.)

An official statement reads: "Ecology: HomeStones is a cartoon-industrial noise project following the dramatization of past and future events concerning the mutilation of eight carrot farmers, all coincidentally named Robert. The organization behind this fantasy, The FPPC, is on a mission to provide you with the information you need for a fast and enjoyable recovery."

Beyond the realm of social media, Ecology: HomeStones has been brought to the live stage in recent months at shows around the Northeast. Sleeping Giant Glossolalia label founder Michael Reisinger states: "Their live shows are memorable to say the least, with animatronic puppets flanking them, really creating an atmosphere. The visuals really lend themselves to the crunchy, rhythmic, somehow narrative, noise explorations."

Amongst the project's thousands of bewildered and bemused fans is Ethel Cain, who included an Ecology: HomeStones track in this recent playlist for Interview Magazine: https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/listen-to-ethel-cains-playlist-of-melancholic-bangers

As evidenced by "Perfect Francis" and the other tracks on the new self-titled album, Ecology: HomeStones carries megatons of ominous weight, even when the audio is separated from the fascinating visuals. The tracks pulse and squelch gloriously – collages of bizarre voices, gentle tones, hypnotic rhythms, soaring melodies, and distorted mayhem, structured for maximum impact. A perplexing work that is also quite enjoyable, Ecology: HomeStones' self-titled album will delight those already in tune with this project, but also stands alone, out of context, as a compelling slab of anthemic, industrial-strength noise.

Based in Brooklyn, Sleeping Giant Glossolalia's formidable catalog of heavy, avant sounds includes releases by Oxbow & Peter Brötzmann, Mick Barr, Ava Mendoza, Arelseum (feat. Colin Marston), Nastie Band (feat. Roddy Bottum), Shit and Shine, Couch Slut, and more.

Tracklist:
1) Perfect Francis
2) Mint Julep III
3) Mothername
4) Innumerable Crawling Misfortunes of Birthday
5) Flower
6) Ecology Brimstones
7) Kindling for the Fuck Fire

https://tiktok.com/@ecologyhomestones
https://instagram.com/ecologyhomestones/
https://ecologyhomestones.bandcamp.com/
https://ecologyhomestones.com/