Wreck and Reference have shared the second single lifted from their upcoming LP ‘Absolute Still Life’. It’s a masterclass in tension building, showing a new level of restraint and highlighting their knack for bending familiar sounds into the unknown, or as the duo vividly describe in the accompanying interview, “a cello that sounds like mud being sucked through an airplane engine.” Listen to Sturdy Dawn via YouTube below.
It’s the duo’s first proper album since 2016’s ‘Indifferent Rivers Romance End,’ and their biggest sonic evolution yet in a career whose only constant has been the groups ability to defy all classification.
Like past albums, the band deal in warped synthesizers and pillaged samples, but the absence of acoustic drums gives ‘Absolute Still Life’ a colder, more alien aesthetic. With fewer screams and stranger textures than before, Wreck and Reference find themselves alone again in uncharted and uncategorizable territory. It’s also the duo’s most accessible work, though that’s still a stretch – this isn’t music for the faint of heart.
Comprised of Ignat Frege and Felix Skinner, the band formed in 2009, and signed to The Flenser after mailing the label a cassette of early recordings. Since then the band has garnered mainstream recognition for their boundary pushing blend of warped electronics and hardcore punk influence.
Of the new album, the band said, “Absolute Still Life’s cover depicts a sickly still life in which edible and inedible elements mix in an unnatural and unappetizing collage of bright colors. The title reflects the absurdist version of reality that we find ourselves in and unable to escape.”
‘Absolute Still Life’ is expected July 19th – pre-order it from The Flenser.
Find Sturdy Dawn and A Mirror on Apple Music & Spotify
