ANIMAL SCREAM MIDNIGHT SUMMER OUT 9/11
ANIMAL SCREAM MIDNIGHT SUMMER OUT 9/11
A COMPELLING COLLECTION OF GOTHED-OUT BEACH BOPS, DREAM-SOAKED TREMBLING GUITARS, AND HIP-SHAKING DARK BOOGIES, THE RECORD IS MOODY LO-FI NIGHT-DRIVING MUSIC
Midnight Summer, the new full-length from Pittsburgh, PA fuzzed-out doom-pop project Animal Scream, is out September 11. Dark lyricism wrapped in sunny melodies winds itself through shimmering walls of guitar. Thunderous rhythm is lightened by handclaps, snaps, and (distorted) tambourine. The record is a study in marrying disparate elements, as songwriter & producer Chad Monticue weaves contrasting threads of the modern canon into a darkly luminous whole.
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PRE-SAVE MIDNIGHT SUMMER
ABOUT ANIMAL SCREAM:
Born from the dissolution of notable Pittsburgh band 1,2,3, Animal Scream supplants their psych-pop psychedelia with a vibe that’s darker and more cinematic, a noir-tinted sound in thrall to the eternal groove. Signed to Frenchkiss, 1,2,3 received notice for their psych-damaged 2011 debut New Heaven. The band followed up with 2014’s polarizing Big Weather, launching their own label American Hermitage, when Frenchkiss declined to release it. Big Weather was hailed by some and ignored by others, and it presaged the band’s dissolution.
Monticue forged the moniker Animal Scream and recorded alluring debut Nightwalk. While Nightwalk (2020) was indebted to a bottom-heavy constellation of dub and Motown influences. Sophomore release, Heartbroke Motel, drew on influences as varied as David Lynch, underground hip hop, and ’60s reggae to carve out nocturnal soundscapes.
Midnight Summer was written alone on Monticue’s porch, at night. Thematically, the record fits its title perfectly. While ghosts, transitions, and life after death are recurring themes, Monticue dispels the dread normally inherent in such topics by placing his subjects in seemingly unlikely situations.
Photo: Vondre Clark
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