NEW TRACK: Dermabrasion – ‘Halberdier’

An ominous cacophony of industrial-tinged post punk, Toronto-based duo Dermabrasion have shared their latest single ‘Halberdier’. Taken from their upcoming debut album, Pain Behaviour, which is set for release on 26th January 2024 via Hand Drawn Dracula, the track is a heavy, brooding gothic anthem that rumbles with discontent.

Formed of Adam Bernhardt and Kat McGouran, Dermabrasion bonded over a shared fascination with punk music, the occult and the corporeal form. They released their debut EP, Luminate, back in 2021, but now the pair are gearing up to share their first full length record. Inspired by Roman Catholicism, LaVeyan Satanism, genre fiction and how these elements affect their outlook on their sense of power, shame and duty; Dermabrasion’s Pain Behaviour is a formidable concoction of post-punk, industrial and metal influences, culminating in a sound they’ve coined as “death rock and roll.”

Produced by Josh Korody (Fucked Up, Nailbiter, Breeze, Beliefs, Vallens), Pain Behaviour looks set to be a compelling listen, with first single ‘Halberdier’ offering a potent introduction to the record. Borrowing its title from a guard who wielded an ancient form of weaponry (the halberd), through their heavy hooks and gloomy vocals, Dermabrasion command the authoritative energy of a Halberdier, immersing their listeners in a shadowy, abrasive ether of noise.

The track is accompanied by a video, formed of a series of clips captured by members of the crowd at a Dermabrasion show in Toronto’s east end during the summer. It captures the gritty, grimy energy of the underground scene the band have cut their teeth playing live on over the years.

Listen to ‘Halberdier’ below.

Pre-order Dermabrasion’s debut album Pain Behaviour here

Follow Dermabrasion on bandcamp, Spotify & Instagram

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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NEW TRACK: Hilary Woods – ‘Burial Rites’

After sharing her poignant rumination ‘Where The Bough Has Broken’ – an atmospheric ode to communal growth and memory – Irish artist Hilary Woods has returned with another hypnotic instrumental titled ‘Burial Rites’. Lifted from her upcoming album, Acts Of Light, which is set for release on 3rd November via Sacred Bones, the track is a magnetic, gloomy cogitation inspired by the Gaelic Celtic ritual of Keening; a traditional form of vocal lament when mourning for the dead.

Following on from her second full length record Birthmarks (2020) and her hypnotic EP Feral Hymns (2021), Woods has expanded and experimented with her sound even further on her new album. Written, recorded, mixed and produced by Woods over the two years she spent between the west coast of Ireland and Dublin, Acts Of Light includes a myriad of idiosyncratic sounds.

The record features choristers of the Palestrina choir, together with the voices of the Galway City Chamber Choir, which Woods captured in the Pro Cathedral Dublin. Strings by Oslo-based musician Jo Berger Myhre appear throughout, and all the tracks are interspersed with field recordings that Woods captured during her time spent travelling through the north west of Spain. These influences have culminated into the nine “hypnotic dirges” that make up Acts Of Light, with single ‘Burial Rites’ offering another glimpse at this potent body of work.

The track is accompanied by a visual which Woods created herself. She offers more insight into the making of it: “The video is comprised of 16mm and 8mm hand processed film, together with archive footage and still photographs that convey private and collective rituals as acts of light.” Paired with her stirring and considered instrumentation, these images convey a powerful sense of loss, absence, love and connection, all themes which permeate Acts Of Light.

Watch the video for ‘Burial Rites’ below.

Pre-order Hilary Woods’ upcoming album Acts Of Light here

Follow Hilary Woods on bandcamp, Spotify & Instagram

Hilary Woods Ireland & UK Tour Dates 2023
25/10/2023 IRL Dublin The Gallery space at The Complex
26/10/2023 IRL Dublin The Gallery space at The Complex
30/10/2023 UK Liverpool Kazimier Stockroom
31/10/2023 UK Brighton Rose Hill Arts
01/11/2023 UK London Cafe OTO
02/11/2023 UK Bristol Cube Cinema
03/11/2023 UK Newcastle Cobalt Studios
04/11/2023 UK Manchester The White Hotel
05/11/2023 UK Leeds Headrow House

Hilary Woods European Tour Dates 2023
05/12/2023 FR Lyon Le Sonic
06/12/2023 CH Geneva Cave12 *
07/12/2023 IT Ravenna Bronson *
08/12/2023 IT Busto Arsizio Circolo Gagarin *
09/12/2023 IT Cornuda Tipoteca Italiana *
10/12/2023 IT Bologna Circolo Dev *
12/12/2023 DE Munich Rote Sonne *
13/12/2023 DE Berlin Arkaoda *
14/12/2023 DE JenaTRAFO *
15/12/2023 DE Dresden Schauburg *
16/12/2023 PL Warsaw Jassmine *
17/12/2023 LI Vilnius St. Catherine Church *
18/12/2023 LV Riga Vagonu Hall *
19/12/2023 EE Tallinn Kino Sõprus *
* – as special guest to Jozef Van Wissem

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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NEW TRACK: body / negative – ‘persimmon’

An exquisite blend of ethereal guitar sounds and tender, mellifluous vocals, multi-instrumentalist Andy Schiaffino aka body / negative has shared their latest single ‘persimmon’. Lifted from their upcoming album, Everett, which is set for release on 8th December via Track Number Records, it’s a shimmering piece of ambient shoegaze that briefly pacifies the ache of long-lingering grief.

Mastered by Slowdive’s Simon Scott, body / negative’s third record is a poetic rumination on love and loss and how they deeply affect our interactions with the world. Dedicated to Schiaffino’s late mother and father, Everett features contributions from Randall Taylor aka Amulets and Madeline Johnston aka Midwife, whose studio Schiaffino was initially supposed to occupy as a residency and record in. Schiaffino’s plans changed imminently when their father was suddenly diagnosed with a terminal illness, and as a result, most of the album was written and recorded while they looked after him in a hospice.

Underscored by a deep vulnerability and empathy, Everett is a remarkable effort from an artist in acute pain. By recording through a hand-held tape recorder and filtering their vocals through a landline-style microphone, they give the record a familiar, yet far-off feeling of transience and disconnected communication. Tracing over their grief with meticulous care and tranquility, body / negative lulls listeners into a state of bittersweet calm across each of Everett‘s eight tracks.

Like the orange flesh of the fruit it’s named after, ‘persimmon’ is a glowing example of body / negative’s ability to transform painful memories into sublime, ambient sounds.

Listen to the track below.

Follow body / negative on bandcamp, Spotify & Instagram

Photo Credit: Audrey Kemp

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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LISTEN: Glass Isle – ‘Pols d’Ombres’

Loosely translating as ‘Dust Of Shadows’, London-based Brazilian artist Zuleika AvTes aka Glass Isle casts a graceful gloom over her listeners on the captivating ‘Pols d’Ombres’. Possessing a lucid dream-like quality, the track is taken from her recent album, Vels d’Èter (‘Veils Of Ether’), which she released via Outer Reaches earlier this month.

By blending her delicate vocal loops with cell-tingling FX and gossamer-like drone sounds, Glass Isle has created a hypnotic rumination that becomes more potent each time it’s listened to. This is the same spellbinding affect her album Vels d’Èter offers. Across 20 tracks, all varying in length, Glass Isle takes listeners on a journey through mortality, and memory, dreams and ritual, solitude and transformation; all via the medium of field recordings captured in London & São Paulo, illuminating drone sounds, and her stirring, far-off vocals.

Described as “music of the ether…diverging through parks and passageways, hinterlands and undergrowth, apparitional visions of arboreal scenery, liminal avenues, and opalescent waterways,” Glass Isle’s sound is as intoxicating as it is elusive. Flickering between the shadows of this world and the realms of another, her music transports listeners through differing states of consciousness. Formed over many years, and now sewn together, Vels d’Èter is ready to illuminate the lives of other.

The album is available as a digital download and on limited edition clear C74 Cassette tape. The cassette includes a 28 page A6 Photography Booklet (160gsm paper/silk finish) and is housed in a Black Matt or Silver Matt Mylar Bag with an Outer Reaches Label Sticker. You can buy your copy here.

Listen to ‘Pols d’Ombres’ below.

 

Follow Glass Isle on bandcamp, YouTube, Twitter (X) & Instagram

Visit Glass Isle’s official website here

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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