 |
| Photo: Philip Cosores |
Preoccupations - New Material (Jagjaguwar)
Released: March 23rd, 2018
Canadian rock band, Preoccupations, is back with their second full-length album, New Material. This is a follow to their self-titled debut, which was their first release under the Preoccupations name. Previously known as Viet Cong, they put out a noisy indie-rock album back in 2015.
Over the past couple years, Preoccupations has developed their noisy-rock sound into a more definitive form, delivering fantastic tracks with indie-rock and post-punk structure. They did a fantastic job of that on their last album and they follow through on their latest release, truly catering to the post-punk and 1980's inspired dark-wave fans.
Over the past couple years, Preoccupations has developed their noisy-rock sound into a more definitive form, delivering fantastic tracks with indie-rock and post-punk structure. They did a fantastic job of that on their last album and they follow through on their latest release, truly catering to the post-punk and 1980's inspired dark-wave fans.
On the lead single "Espionage", the track begins with a series of mysterious rim-shot patterns. The percussion develops while a haunting and shimmering synthesizer melody takes place. Full of reverb and echo effects, the track is dynamic and instantly catchy. The chorus section, which includes a near-yelling call and response format, is one of the best parts of the song. The song is dark and cold but remains energetic and attractive.
"Decompose" is another highlight. The repetitive harp/string strike that occurs each bar is slightly offsetting, but fits alongside the percussion so well. The kick drum and bass lines hold a consistent 3 punch pattern throughout the song, never veering off track. The lyrics directly discuss decomposition, claiming we fall apart through "rivers of radiation".
As the members stated in an interview with Consequence of Sound, "Disarray" is their "New Order" song, specifically on the chorus. Full of reverb-heavy guitar work and a driving bass line, the track is vigorous. Again, the theme and aesthetic is very cold and dark, a true ode to 80's post-punk.
My favorite lyric appears on "Manipulation", a slow-burning indie-rock tune. During the final minute, lead singer Matt Flegel begs...
"Please don't remember me
Like I'll always remember you"
As the members stated in an interview with Consequence of Sound, "Disarray" is their "New Order" song, specifically on the chorus. Full of reverb-heavy guitar work and a driving bass line, the track is vigorous. Again, the theme and aesthetic is very cold and dark, a true ode to 80's post-punk.
My favorite lyric appears on "Manipulation", a slow-burning indie-rock tune. During the final minute, lead singer Matt Flegel begs...
"Please don't remember me
Like I'll always remember you"
The song is a constant build to this moment. The percussion is always growing while the synths and instrumental is constantly developing layers.
Even the deeper cuts on New Material are attractive, especially "Doubt". Accompanied by a consistent drum machine, this track is the album's goth-jam. A very slow moving track but instrumentally depth tune.
All throughout New Material, Preoccupations create cold and dark melodies through intricate synth work and gothic guitar-play. The industrial influence and production is evident on each song, specifically through the looping drum patterns and bass lines. New Material is a great follow-up to their self-titled debut, adding another album do an already solid discography. Listen below...
Listen: Preoccupations - Espionage
Genre: Indie-Rock/Post-Punk/Alternative/Dark-Wave/Alt-Punk/Industrial
Rating: 7/10
Fav Songs: ALL
Comments
Post a Comment