Tag: Disappears

New Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: FACS Shares Angular “Wish Defense”

Back in 2013, Chicago-based post-punk act Disappears — founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums), Jonathan Van Herik (guitar) and Damon Carruesco (bass) — released two of my favorite efforts of the past decade or so: the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era.

Damon Carruesco left the band in 2017. The band’s remaining members — Case, Leger and Van Herik — decided to continue onward, but under a new name and with a decidedly new sonic direction and songwriting approach as FACS.

With their FACS full-length debut, 2018’s Negative Houses, the trio quickly established an intense, cathartic, heavy sound — that’s not always obviously heavy. Since then the band has gone through a couple of lineup changes: Alianna Kalaba (bass) replaced van Herrik for a handful of the band’s albums. including last year’s Still Life in Decay, a decidedly focused effort that saw the band at what may arguably be their most solidified. The apocalyptic chaos of the album’s predecessor was pushed away in favor of examination with a remarkably uneasy clarity, while being a sort of addendum to 2021’s Present Tense. The album, which featured tracks like “When You Say” and “Slogan,” was the last album to feature Kalaba, who amicably left the band.

The Chicago-based post-punk outfit and JOVM mainstays’ sixth studio album Wish Defense is slated for a February 7, 2025 release on CD, cassette, black vinyl and a limited white vinyl variant while supplies last [pre-order] through Trouble In Mind Records.

The album marks the return of original band member Jonathan Van Herik, who replaces longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba. Van Herik’s return to the band reportedly brings renewed vigor and a marked angularity from the Chicago-based outfit’s more recent output. While the songs still hit hard, the approach is sideways; in fact, the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure and previous time with Case and Leger in Disappears. Now on bass, Van Herik was originally the band’s guitarist while Case, the band’s current guitarist, played bass. The role reversal between Case and Van Herik has reportedly helped the band’s dynamic, offering a different musical perspective than before, while revisiting the trio’s long-held collaboration with some distance and time.

Tragically, Wish Defense is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days of sessions were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May, before Albini’s untimely death. Renowned engineer and friend Sanford Parker stepped in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the albums as Albini would have, in Electrical Audio’s A Room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.

Thematically, the album focuses on the centuries old subject of the duality of man. Who is your “true self” and what do they want? The album sees the band taking a good long look in the mirror to face themselves. As the band’s Brian Case explains, the album’s lyrical content revolves about doppelgängers or doubles, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations.

Anchored around an angular and forceful bass line from Van Herik, funky yet forcefully off-kilter rhythmic patterns from Leger, Case’s squiggling and chiming guitar lines paired with a slow-burning, noisy coda and arguably one of Case’s more melodic vocal turns in some time. Fittingly, it continues the band’s long-held reputation for material that’s psychologically probing with Case laying out the entire album’s theme in one stanza, asking the listener — and in turn himself: Are your actions and emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward into the world? Case says that ultimately, the sentiment is ” . . . don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope — but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good.”

Directed by Joshua Ford, starring Megan Paradowski, the accompanying video for “Wish Defense” was filmed at Los Angeles-based XIX Studio and plays along with the song’s thematic and lyrical concerns: While Paradowski expressively dances throughout, we see doubling — whether through shadow, visual effect or slick editing.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: FACS Share Tense and Uneasy “North America Endless”

Back in 2013, Chicago-based post-punk act Disappears — founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums), Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) and Damon Carruesco (bass) — released two related yet very different efforts that are among some of my favorite albums of the past decade or so — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era.  

In 2017, Carruesco left the band. Disappears’ remaining members — Case, Lager and van Herrik — eventually decided to continue onward, but under a new name, and new sonic direction and songwriting approach as FACS. With 2018’s full-length debut as FACS, Negative Houses, the trio quickly established an intense, cathartic and heavy sound, although it’s not always obvious.

The Chicago-based outfit’s fifth album, last year’s Still Life in Decay was a decidedly focused that saw the band at what may arguably be their most solidified. The apocalyptic chaos of their previous album was pushed away in favor of examination with a remarkable and uneasy clarity, while being a sort of addendum to 2021’s Present Tense. Although Alianna Kalaba made an amicable last stand with the band on the album’s material, the album saw the band’s incredibly tight rhythm section dancing and twisting around each other like a double helix rather than inside it, creating a lattice, in which Case wove his guitar lines in and around, much like creeping vines as you’d hear on album tracks “When You Say” and “Slogan.”

The JOVM mainstays — currently Case, Van Herik and Leger — will be releasing the “North America Endless”/”Take Me to Your Heart” single through Sub Pop. The limited release will be on white vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies, and features the original A-side “North America Endless” and on the B-side, a cover of Eurythmics “Take Me to Your Heart.”

“North America Endless” sees the trio at their most forceful yet melodic. Anchored around a shimmering and reverb-soaked, sustain-driven guitar line, thunderous and angular drumming paired with Case’s delivery, which evokes and expresses the anxiety, despair, cognitive dissonance and dissociation of modern American life.

“We had been talking a lot about how to incorporate melody in a new way with the material we were starting to write after Still Life in Decay, and this was one of the first experiments with that,” FACS’ Brian Case says of the new single. “I had this inverted Polvo thing I had been playing around with that Jonathan married to a really nice Frippy sustained lead, and it kind of just wrote itself. Lyrically, it’s about the dissociation needed to live in this country and the powerlessness that can bring. Noah’s beat at the end of the song is one of my favorites from him.”
 
Regarding the cover of Eurythmics’ “Take Me to Your Heart,” Case says the song is “A band favorite, we’ve been kicking around a version of this since we first started FACS, but for some reason just got around to completing it now. This song has a lot of elements we keep in focus when we write – repetition, space, off-the-grid melodies, and mantra-like lyrics that can be construed in a few ways based on what perspective you view them from.”

The tense Joshua Ford-directed accompanying video for “North America Endless” follows a woman through the slow-burn descent into numbing dissociation and madness.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: FACS Shares Menacing and Uneasy “Constellation”

In 2013, Chicago-based post-punk act Disappears — founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums), Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) and Damon Carruesco (bass) — released two somewhat related yet very different efforts that have remained in my album rotation — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era. 

Carruesco left the band in 2017. The remaining members — Case, Lager and van Herrik — eventually decided to continue onward, but under a new name, new songwriting approach and sound as FACS. And with 2018’s full-length debut, Negative Houses, the trio quickly established themselves as a heavy band, although they don’t necessarily feel or seem like one in the traditional sense.

Since Negative House, the Chicago-based trio have released three more albums, including 2021’s Present Tense. Each of those albums have seen the band perfecting their unique brand of intense, catharsis-inducing post punk while pushing their sound and approach in increasingly further and newer directions.

Recorded by Sanford Parker at Chicago’s renowned Electrical Audio Recording, FACS’ fifth album Still Life in Decay is slated for a Friday release through Trouble In Mind Records. The album sees bassist Alianna Kalaba, who joined the band after the release of Negative Houses making her amicable last stand with the group. The album’s material sees the band’s rhythm section dancing and twisting around each other, much like a double helix, in which they collectively approach rhythm from outside the grove, rather than inside it, creating a lattice in which Case weaves his guitars in and around.

The album reportedly sees the band at their most solidified and focused: The apocalyptic chaos that defined its immediate predecessor is pushed away in favor of examination with a remarkable and unsettling clarity — but while still being a sort of addendum to Present Tense.

So far I’ve written about two of the album’s singles:

  • “When You Say,” an uneasy track built around the propulsive lockstep rhythm held between Leger and Kalaba, and Case’s reverb-soaked guitar slashes. The song’s narrator shouts repeated phrases with a desperate urgency, as though trying to hold on to something — anything, really before it falls out of his grasp. The song’s stream of consciousness-like free-form lyrics touch upon the themes of resignation, cynicism, classism and the search for identity and meaning in a fucked up, crumbling society. The end result is a song that savagely pulls the bandages off to expose the rot, grime and ugliness of our world to the sunlight.

  • “Slogan,” a brooding track built around shimmering, meditative guitar lines, a forceful and insistent rhythm section paired with Case’s reverb-drenched vocal and a soulful, aching guitar solo. The song features a a narrator meditating on the connection between identity and memory, repeating the phrase “I had it in the palm of my hand,” like a sad, desperate slogan.

“Constellation,” Still Life in Decay‘s third and latest single begins with a squall of white noise and distortion that quickly collapses into the song’s lumbering and thunderous groove. Case’s guitar has a spectral presence, appearing and disappearing in gauzy feedback throughout. The song’s narrator continues an uneasy meditation on memory, the past, the present and fate, sounding like a man striking out desperately against forces bigger than him.

The accompanying video by Nick Ciontea features lighting patterns that pulse and undulate in time to the song.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: FACS Share Brooding “Slogan”

Back in 2013, Chicago-based post-punk act Disappears — founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums), Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) and Damon Carruesco (bass) — released two related yet very different efforts that are among some of my favorite albums — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era.  

In 2017, Carruesco left the band. The remaining members — Case, Lager and van Herrik — eventually decided to continue onward, but under a new name, and new sonic direction and songwriting approach as FACS. With 2018’s full-length debut, Negative Houses, the trio quickly established themselves as a heavy band, although they don’t necessarily feel like one.

Since Negative Houses, the Chicago-based outfit has released three more albums, including 2021’s Present Tense. Each of those albums have seen the members of FACS perfercting their unique brand of intense, catharsis-inducing art rock/post-punk, while pushing their sound and approach in new directions.

The Chicago-based outfit’s fifth album, Still Life In Decay was recorded by Sanford Parker at Electrical Audio Recording and is slated for an April 7, 2023 release through Trouble In Mind Records. Bassist Alianna Kalaba, who took over for founding member Jonathan van Herik after the release of Negative Houses makes her amicable last stand with the group. Alongside Leger, the band’s rhythm section dance and twist around each other like double helix in which collectively they approach rhythm from outside the groove, rather than inside it, creating a lattice in which Case can weave his guitar lines in an around, like creeping vines. 

Reportedly, Still Life in Decay is a decidedly focused effort that sees the band at their most solidified. The apocalyptic chaos of that defined their previous album is pushed away in favor of examination with a remarkable clarity — while being a sort of addendum to Present Tense. 

Last month, I wrote about Still Life in Decay‘s first single, the uneasy “When You Say.” Built around the propulsive lockstep rhythm between Leger and Kalaba, and Case’s reverb-drenched, guitar slashes, the song sees Case shouting repeated phrases with a desperate agency, as though desperately trying to hold on to something — anything, really. The song’s freeform lyrics touch upon themes of resignation, cynicism, classism and search for identity and meaning in a crumbling society. The song is a primal, forceful meditation on the exposed ugliness, divides and inequities within our world — both pre-pandemic and post pandemic.

“Slogan,” Still Life in Decay‘s second and latest single is a brooding track rooted in shimmering and meditative guitar, a forceful rhythm section paired with Case’s reverb-drenched vocal and a soulful yet buzzing guitar solo. The song narrators meditates on identity and memory — repeating one phrase “I had it in the palm of my hand,” much like a slogan.

Directed by the band’s Brian Case, the lyric video for “Slogan” features the song’s lyrics floating on top of a geometric field.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of an American, an Englishman and two Swedes, the members of FEWS relocated from London to Malmo, Sweden, where they unearthed its creative underbelly while internalizing the impact and influence of their new surroundings — and they immediately began working on the much-anticipated follow up to 2016’s full-length debut Means.  Interestingly, the band’s latest single “Business Man,” which will be released by Play It Again Sam, follows a self-imposed hiatus of sorts, one that had seen them writing and demoing new material, using the local studio of producer and friend Joakim Lindberg, while quietly returning to the UK to play a handful of well-received shows in London and Brighton. 

Sonically speaking, the explosive song is centered around twinkling Wurtlizer, slashing guitar and bass chords, feedback and distortion, thundering rhythms that fall and tumble around the mix and punchily delivered vocals — and while clearly drawing from Gang of Four, Wire, and Disappears, the song captures the modern day frustration of being caught up in the unending rat race, pointlessly striving for money to buy more shit that you really don’t want, and yet you can’t figure out how to get out the trap. Interestingly, as the band explains, the song “. . . is about people who realise they nee to shape up, get a haircut and suit, and work their asses off trying to please the boss. After a few years, burnout and the realization that the system is completely screwed, sees them lose their shit during the weekends before returning to the conveyor belt of conformity, trudging through the same bullshit week after week . . .”

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: FACS (Ex-Disappers) Returns with Stark and Kaleidoscopic Visuals for Eerie New Single

Despite the fact they had gone through a few lineup changes, the Chicago, IL-based post-punk act Disappears since their formation in 2008 received attention for crafting music that thematically explored how difficult it can be to relate to others, how we seek out meaning and attempt to make sense of our surroundings despite the fact that relationships fall part, how patterns grow into habits and how our world can shift so rapidly that it’s unsetting and completely unrecognizable. And as a result, their sound generally evoked and conveyed our contemporary condition — the creeping, anxious dread of a venal and vicious world that possesses its own lunatic logic.

Now, as you may recall I wrote about the band quite a bit back in 2013 as they released two similar and yet very different efforts — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era, an album that felt like the interior monologues of Underground Man in Notes from the Underground or of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment as the album featured narrators, who rapidly vacillated between anxiousness, dangerously unhinged obsession, self-loathing, envy and undulated rage directed both at oneself and at everyone and everything, capturing the dark and frightening recesses of wounded psyche — and a furious roar into the indifferent void.

Early last year, Damon Carruesco (bass) left the band, and the remaining members of Disappears, founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums) and Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) initially decided to put the project on hold; but ultimately, they decide to carry on, boldly pushing their sound and aesthetic towards new directions with their newest musical collaboration FACS. Musically, Case, Leger and van Herik head in a similar direction as their previous collaboration together but their approach towards the stark, downright menacing post-punk goes finds them taking up much more abstract, rhythms. 

“Skylarking,” the first single off the new project’s forthcoming full-length debut Negative Houses features Leger’s tribal and motorik-like drumming at the forefront of the song, with van Herik alternating between slashing and dissonant ambience and forcefully percussive guitar. While Case retains vocal duties, he switches from guitar to playing bass, with an economical yet equally forceful throb — but the major difference between projects is that  while retaining the tense and menacing vibes of their preceding project, FACS leans towards a minimalist and downright creepier take. Negative Houses’ second and latest single “Primary” continues on a similar creepy and minimalist vibe, as it brief yet explosive bursts of discordant guitar, an economic and throbbing bass line and a shit ton of cymbal-led percussion before ending in a wild burst of noisy feedback. In some way, both tracks will further the individual members reputations for crafting music that captures the anxious and creeping dread of a world gone absolutely mad — and for no apparent reason. 
Produced by Alexander Stewart and Jordan Wong, the recently released hand drawn animated video for “Primary” features geometric figures in shades of black and gray flashing across the screen in a kaleidoscopic, almost trance-like fashion. 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Stark Visuals and Sounds of FACS (Ex-Disappears)’ “Skylarking”

Despite the fact they had gone through a few lineup changes, the Chicago, IL-based post-punk act Disappears since their formation in 2008 received attention for crafting music that thematically explored how difficult it can be to relate to others, how we seek out meaning and attempt to make sense of our surroundings despite the fact that relationships fall part, patterns grow into habits and that our world can shift so rapidly that it’s unsetting and completely unrecognizable. And as a result, their sound generally evoked our contemporary condition — the creeping, anxious dread of venal and vicious world that possesses its own lunatic logic. 

Now, as you may recall I wrote about the band quite a bit back in 2013 as they released two similar and yet very different efforts — the atmospheric and tempestuous Kone EP and the tense, raging Era, an album that felt like the interior monologues of Underground Man in Notes from the Underground or of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment as the album featured a narrators, who rapidly vacillated between anxiousness, dangerously unhinged obsession, self-loathing, envy and undulated rage directed both at oneself and at everyone and everything, capturing the dark and frightening recesses of wounded psyche — and a furious roar into the indifferent void. 
Early last year, Damon Carruesco (bass) left the band, and the remaining members of Disappears, founding member Brian Case (vocals, guitar) along with  Noah Leger (drums) and Jonathan van Herirk (guitar) initially decided to put the project on hold; but ultimately, they decide to carry on, boldly pushing their sound and aesthetic towards new directions with their newest musical collaboration FACS. Musically, Case, Leger and van Herik head in a similar direction as their previous collaboration together but their approach towards the stark, downright menacing post-punk goes finds them taking up much more abstract, rhythms; in fact, “Skylarking,” the first single off the new project’s forthcoming full-length debut Negative Houses features Leger’s tribal and motorik-like drumming at the forefront of the song, with van Herik alternating between slashing and dissonant ambience and forcefully percussive guitar. While Case retains vocal duties, he switches from guitar to playing bass, with an economical yet equally forceful throb — but the major difference between projects is that  while retaining the tense and menacing vibes of their preceding project, FACS leans towards a minimalist and downright creepier take. 

Directed by Robert Stockwell and featuring choreography by Robyn Mineko, performed by Andrew Murdock, the gorgeous and cinematically shot black and white video features a man, who seems to be battling his own demons within stark environments — an abandoned factory and on its roof. It’s an appropriately moody and unsettling meditation on our own vulnerability and frailty. 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitar), Peter Gudim Marberg (bass), Håvard Haga (guitar), Bjørn Marius Kristiansen (touring drummer) and Ola J. Kyrkjeeide (studio drummer/live drummer), the Oslo, Norway-based indie rock band Mayflower Madame formed during the winter of 2010-2011. They started rehearsing in a desolate industrial building, where they shared the space with a carwash company. And amidst the lonely and gritty surroundings, the band quickly came upon an appropriately dark, post-punk sound, and then recorded a four song demo, which quickly won them national attention.  By August 2011, the Oslo-based indie rock band won the Unsigned Band of the Week on one of Norway’s biggest radio stations, which then lead to regular airplay on national radio — with the band spending 2012 building upon their growing profile with local and national touring, and writing material for their first official release.

In 2013, Mayflower Madame was selected to play a showcase featuring Scandinavia’s best, up-and-coming band at that year’s Norwegian Wood Festival, which was headlined by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and My Bloody Valentine and they continued a big year by releasing their debut EP Into the Haze, an effort that received attention across the blogosphere. In fact, adding to a growing profile, the Norwegian band opened for renowned neo-psych act Crystal Stilts — and they released an attention-grabbing video for EP title track “Into the Haze” that had been directed by Kenneth Karlstad and was inspired by Expressionist horror films.

In early 2015, the Norwegian indie rock band released “Lovesick” a single that was picked up by Custom Made Music and received Stateside radio airplay and praise from several publications including L.A. Record, who wrote that the single was “powerfully lysergic reverb rock” and The Work Magazine, who wrote that the single was a “loyal homage to the legends of the 60s and a heaping spoonful of UK drone-rock.” The members of the band spent the rest of ’15 writing and recording tracks for their full-length debut Observed in a Dream while touring and playing shows with Disappears, Moon Duo and La Femme — and along with that they toured outside of Scandinavia for the first time.

Mayflower Madame – Lovesick from Mayflower Madame on Vimeo.

The band’s full-length debut, Observed in a Dream was released last year through the band’s own label Night Cult Records throughout the European Union in April and through Custom Made Music throughout North America in June, and the album managed to caught the attention of several internationally known media outlets including Q Magazine, Drowned in Sound, Clash Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Louder Than War, Ghettoblaster Magazine, as well as praise in their homeland. Adding to a growing profile, album singles “Lovesick” and “Weightless” received extensive airplay in the US, including several Top 20 and Top 5 rotations on college radio stations.

Mayflower Madame is currently on a North American tour, which includes a stop tonight at Philadelphia‘s Kung Fu Necktie — and you can check out the rest of the tour dates below; however, as they were about to go on tour, the band released a reverb-filled, moody, new single “Drown,” which interestingly enough will further cement their reputation for crafting 80s-inspired post-punk that sounds as though it draws from The Sisters of Mercy, My Bloody Valentine, Spacemen 3 while subtly nodding at classic shoegaze and the 4AD Records sound.

TOUR DATES
4/2 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
4/3 – Diabolical Records – Salt Lake City, UT
4/4 – The Manor – Boise, ID
4/5 – Funhouse – Seattle, WA
4/6 – The Cobalt – Vancouver, BC
4/7 – Out From The Shadows Festival @ Tonic – Portland, OR
4/8 – Somos Gallery – Salinas, CA
4/9 – Brick & Mortar Music Hall – San Francisco, CA
4/10 – Complex – Los Angeles, CA
4/11 – Soda Bar – San Diego, CA

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays Nots Captures Our Current Dread and Unease

Cosmetic’s third and latest single “Inherently Low” is presciently and strangely fitting for our increasingly surreal times while continuing with the album’s overall theme. Sonically, the band pairs angular guitar and bass chords, propulsive drumming and shouted lyrics — and the end result is a song that evokes creeping dread and unease and while boldly and furiously calling out hypocritical bullshit. Simply put it’s a song with a narrator that simply has stopped giving a fuck.

The recently released video was created and edited by the band’s Natalie Hoffman and was influenced by the results of last week’s Presidential Election. And as Hoffman explains in press notes “the tension and fear that came with the results certainly played a part in the visual outcome of the video. America has elected someone who has openly campaigned to keep us low. To keep us completely divided. To keep us at war. I don’t think that I (or anyone) can fully process the weight of what is to come, but this video is an attempt to translate both what the song is about, and how I’ve felt since the election results – a new awareness, anger, and fear about being kept inherently low.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Comprised of Trond Fagernes (vocals, guitar), Rune Øverby (guitar), Petter Gudim Marberg (bass), Ola Jørgen Kyrkjeeide (drums) and live contributions from Kenneth Ekes (synth), Olso, Norway quartet Mayflower Madame specialize in a moody and dark post-punk/darkwave/chillwave sound that immediately brings to mind 4AD Records heyday along with several contemporary bands, including Interpol, JOVM mainstay artists The Harrow and others. And since the 2013 release of their debut EP Into the Haze, the Norwegian quartet have developed a reputation nationally for their live shows; in fact, they’ve played two of their homelands biggest festivals Norwegian Wood and Oya Festival, as well as opening for a number of renowned acts including Crystal Stilts, Night Beats, Moon Duo and JOVM mainstay acts Disappears, Crocodiles and La Femme.

Mayflower Madame’s full-length debut Observed in a Dream was released earlier this year across Europe through Night Cult Records and was released across North America through Custom Made Music earlier this month and the album’s first latest single “Weightless”  consists of a tight motorik groove paired with shimmering guitar chords and Fagernes’ brooding baritone in a song that will further cement the quartet’s growing reputation for moody 4AD Records era post-punk — but in a remarkably hazy and ethereal song.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Introducing The Murky and Eerie Sounds of Seattle’s Nightspace

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The Best of 2013 — The Singles

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