Led by its founding member, British artist Jaike Stambach, and currently featuring bandmembers Markus Mocydlarz and Janek Sprachta, the Berlin, Germany-based indie rock trio The History of Colour TV was initially conceived as a solo, experimental multimedia project. With the release of two full-length albums and several EPs released through Bruit Blanc Records and renowned shoegazer label Saint Marie Records, the members of the Berlin-based have developed a reputation for restless expansion and experimentation with their sound as their recorded output has consisted of noise rock, sound collages, shimmering deram pop and recently more straightforward rock — and for extensive touring and live shows across both Berlin and Continental Europe.
As the story goes, earlier this year the trio of Stambach, Mocydlarz and Sprachta set off to Black Box Recording Studio to write and record the material which would eventually comprise their forthcoming third, full-length effort Something Like Eternity with Peter Deimel, who’s best known for this work with The Wedding Present, Shellac and The Ex. And as you’ll hear on the album’s latest single “Wreck,” the members of the Berlin, German-based trio wanted to focus on a raw, live-like sound; in fact, the band recorded the song with minimal overdubs and as a result, it feels like an accurate representation of their live sound while evoking 90s alt rock — in particular, the song reminds me of Pablo Honey and The Bends-era Radiohead as the band pairs shimmering yet slightly ragged arpeggio guitar chord-led melody, propulsive and stormy drumming, Stambach’s plaintive vocals signing lyrics that recount the story of a group friendship/group dynamic tarnished by disaffection and apathy.
As the members of the band explain press notes as a member of the group, the narrator describes feelings of confusion, helplessness and hurt over the members of the group’s inability to figure out a way to positively change the situation. After a series of surreal descriptions, the song implies that the friends wind up in a car crash — with the narrator left to contemplate both the aftermath and randomness of an event that nullified any possibility of reconciliation. And as a result the song possesses a bitter and unresolved sense of confusion, ache and resignation.