Toronto’s electro-psych, dance-rock sibling trio DOOMSQUAD have shared the video for their new single Let It Go, the third track lifted from their latest LP ‘Let Yourself Be Seen’. The album is out now via Royal Mountain Records.
Speaking about the video, the band said: “We knew we wanted to create this visual phantasmagoria that rapidly cycles through a succession of images. The song has this propulsive, urgent energy, but it’s also almost 7 minutes long, so we needed to figure out a way to respond to the urgency in a way that holds people’s attention. The average attention span of people in the age of Instagram is around 8 seconds, so we constructed a video that feels like you’re watching multiple stories cycle past, heading towards a certain impactful emotional climax. Dance and movement are the expressive anchor points that carries you through it.”
Watch the video for Let It Go via YouTube below.
“This was an extremely collaborative effort, and all the different looks and sequences are a result of everyone’s different contributions. Our friend and frequent collaborator, Carolina Fernandez Vidal served as stylist for many of the sequences, and connected us with amazing emerging designers including Anel Yaos, Reparto Studios, and Parallel Dimensions. Another huge help came from brilliant Montreal designer, Yung Alexander, who so graciously lent us a bunch of super groovy rave inspired items fresh off the runway.”
‘Let Yourself Be Seen’ is the most assertive, ambitious, groove-sodden declaration of intent yet from Trevor, Jaclyn and Allie Blumas: the sound of dancefloor believers and thinkers firing on all personal and political fronts, at a time when we need it most. Even if DOOMSQUAD never lacked the courage of their convictions, ‘Let Yourself Be Seen’ ups the stakes. On 2016’s ‘Total Time,’ the trio issued invitations to free your mind, body and spirit over dirty bass-lines and hypnotic disco jams. And yet, their reliance on unspoken sibling intuition left them fearing that much of its “message and meaning” had gone unheard. Thus, the trio took a more forward approach for their third album, aiming to “crystallise what DOOMSQUAD is and what it means to us. What we always knew but put at the forefront of this record is that DOOMSQUAD is a project of protest, catharsis and emotional and spiritual reconnection through music and, especially, through dance-music culture. It’s about activating the body on the most fundamental level, into states of change, release and reunion.”
Richly steeped in the influences of acid house, West African disco, spiritual jazz, NYC no-wave and new-age ambient music, ‘Let Yourself Be Seen’ hums with a sense of vigorous, invigorating purpose. After the overture of Spandrel, General Hum sends out a buoyant new-wave rallying cry for maximised engagement just when the world seems intent on stifling it. “Is there a place for spirit anymore?” it asks. Kicking in with a percussive bustle that all but defies you to try and stand still, Aimless answers in the affirmative.The result is an album for fraught political times, charged by the impetus to bring “music back to the body“. Close-to-home influences on that score include Tanya Tagaq and Peaches, both of whom DOOMSQUAD have toured with; further afield, Peter Gabriel, Diamanda Galás, Genesis P-Orridge and Underworld numbered among inspirations. Meanwhile, as the trio’s creative process took them from a lakeside cabin to a studio in Toronto, they benefited from the input of kindred spirits such as Ejji Smith, whose virtuoso guitar-shredding propels Let It Go. Israeli jazz composer Itamar Erez adds watery synths to Emma, while a key studio collaborator was producer/artist Sandro Perri, whose credits include Barzin.
DOOMSQUAD’s second album ‘Let Yourself Be Seen’ is out now via Royal Mountain. It’s available to order here.
Tracklist
1. Spandrel
2. General Hum
3. Aimless
4. Let It Go
5. Emma
6. Spandrel II
7. Dorian’s Closet
8. Let Yourself Be Seen
9. The Last Two Palm Trees In LA
10. Weather Patterns
The trio are currently on tour with Operators, you can check out the tour dates below.
Dates
08 Jun – Vancouver, BC – Fortune*
09 Jun – Seattle, WA – Neumos*
10 Jun – Portland, OR – Doug Fir*
12 Jun – San Francisco, CA – Independent*
13 Jun – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom*
14 Jun – San Diego, CA – Casbah*
15 Jun – Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar*
17 Jun – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court*
18 Jun – Denver, CO – Lost Lake*
19 Jun – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad*
20 Jun – Dallas, TX – Three Links*
21 Jun – Austin, TX – 3TEN ACL Live*
22 Jun – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall*
24 Jun – Atlanta, GA – Earl*
25 Jun – Nashville, TN – High Watt*
26 Jun – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups*
27 Jun – Toronto, ON The Garrison
10 Jul – Allston, MA – Great Scott*
11 Jul – NYC, NY – Bowery Ballroom*
12 Jul – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s
13 Jul – Washington, DC – U Street Music Hall*
19 July – Paris, ON – Strangewaves Music Festival
20 Jul – Field, ON – River & Sky Festival
27 Jul – West Grey, ON – Crystal Lake Festival
21 Sept – Watsons Corners, ON – Hollowfest
*Supporting Operators
