If you’re caught up and have enjoyed our most recent premieres then you’re in for quite a treat, as this week is turning out to be lined up with pretty noisy ones. This time, we’re heading straight towards Oslo to showcase the disturbing yet contagious noise rock of Takomaha. As such, we’re of course thrilled to premiere their newest single “American Basements” – a cut that simultaneously unnerves and grooves in all the right ways.
The band comments on the song: ‘Somewhere between the harshest feedback and the darkest backdrop sits our reflection of people who use self-inflicted pity as a weapon. Everyone knows someone like that. And very few manage to do anything about it other than using it as their own kind of pornography to convince themselves that they are better. ‘
The (relatable) vitriol is immediately felt as harrowing swirls of guitar sway to the brink of dissonance, joining alongside grimy bass strums, spacious drumming, and exasperated vocals that seemingly cling onto an indifferent void. The unsettling beauty of “American Basements”, though, lies on Takomaha incorporating these sound palettes to a full-on groove midway through the song. Its forward-driving pacing brings forth these otherwise droning textures onto a more lively setting, exposing a band absolutely locked in and with a ferocious intensity that’s simply gravitating.
The vocals are borderline unhinged at this point, only getting drowned out by the wall of sound from the recurring but much more brighter guitar swirls and the distortion off the now bouncy bass leads. I’m also loving how the production on the drumming gives it a garage rock-esque rawness to the track that makes it the more charming. If this is how the band sounds at the thought of self-centered assholes, I do not want to imagine their sonic takes on much more serious and devastating circumstances. Who am I kidding – I actually do. This is great stuff.
“American Basements” serves as a taste of what’s to come from Takomaha and their upcoming sophomore EP also titled American Basements, to be released via Loyal Blood Records. The EP is a ‘four-song battering ram‘ that promises a blend of ‘the jagged urgency of This Heat, the volatile fire of At The Drive-In, and the distortion-drenched assault of A Place To Bury Strangers‘. If these influences sound right up your alley (it sure as hell does on my end), give their Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook sites a follow to keep an eye out for any future updates.
