I’m not sure where you’re reading this from, but here in Western Canada, wildfires are running rampant amidst a lack of rain and unseasonably high temperatures. In the northern city where I am, there is an air quality advisory due to all the smoke. People are sharing actual, unedited images from area alongside screengrabs from Blade Runner 2049, and they look like they could be from the same apocalyptic landscape. All that to say, there are moments where the climate crises we’re in feel insurmountably bleak. But what’s that have to do with today’s new single “Stardust” from dark folk/country group Inezona? Well, the song feels like an appropriate soundtrack to this apocalyptic moment, to say the least.
Inezona is a group led by Ines Brodbeck. The group is based in Europe, but regularly works with producer Gabriel Sullivan, recording with him in Tucson, Arizona. The desert environment that birthed this track is tangible in “Stardust”. The song opens with a guitar that unequivocally screams Western, evoking Ennio Morricone. This atmospheric guitar complements Brodbeck’s ethereal vocals and ominous refrain, ‘With the flow of all blood‘. Rhythmic, evolving synths undergird this pairing of guitars and vocals while Eric Gut (drums) and Fabian Gisler’s synthesized bass accentuate the song’s slow, eerie pace while giving it additional movement. What results is something that band calls ‘mystic dark American Western‘, and I think that is an apt description.
The track is only elevated by its accompanying music video. Featuring Ines riding a horse through the Arizona desert alongside shots of the Inezona performing in an enclosure, its minimalist yet evocative imagery perfectly suits the pall cast by the song through its sparse, creative arrangement and catchy, creepy melodies.
“Stardust” is released ahead of Heartbeat, the upcoming album from Inezona out on June 30. You can pre-order a CD here, access pre-save links here, and follow Inezona on Facebook and Instagram.
