Another one of my occasional forays into the underbelly
of the US post-punk scene, see’s us stumble into L.A. based post-punk trio
Second Still. Originating from Brooklyn, Second Still deliver beautifully dark,
slate-grey coldwave music, as evidenced by the reverential post-punk on their
two EPs, 2016’s “Early Forms” and 2018’s “Equals.” Now the band — Suki Kwan,
Alex Hartman and Ryan Walker — are entering their “Violet Phase,” the title of
the album they released on 17 May 2019. Taking their name from the opening song
on Modern Eon’s album Fiction Tales a couple of Modern Eon members got turned
on to their music and reached out to Second Still a while ago to say they
really liked their songs. The bands that have influenced Second Still most are
the early 4AD bands like Xmal Deutschland, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, and
This Mortal Coil. Channelling Head Over Heels era Cocteau Twins the primitive
coldwave renderings that make up the band’s first EP, Early Forms has enchanting
tunes that lure you into the deepest recesses of the night. Originally written
by Ryan (guitar) and Alex (bass) as an instrumental demo in 2013, the band
restructured the songs to leave room for singer Suki San’s added vocal
melodies. Reverb-heavy guitars and pitch-perfect vocal melodies draw you in
while a hard-hitting drum machine and a steady bass line keep the groove
underneath take on the iconic 4AD sound of dreamy goth-pop anthems. Definitely
not for daytime, drive time radio, (but then again if you’ve got this far that
won’t be your thing anyway) they are nonetheless a band that should be played
and heard by many.
Second Still; Early Forms EP
1. Try
not to hide
2. Two
reasons
3. Jo
4. 7-4
10/10 Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree Fabio
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