Breeze shares ‘Hard Boiled Wonderland’

Toronto-based producer and artist, Josh Korody (Nailbiter, Beliefs) who works under the moniker, Breeze shared the propulsive post-punk disco of the new single, Hard Boiled Wonderland. This new track follows on from last month’s Come Around which featured guest vocals from Cadence Weapon, arriving as the latest to be taken from his forthcoming second album, ‘Only Up,’ set for release via Hand Drawn Dracula on August 26, 2021.

Watch the video for Hard Boiled Wonderland via YouTube below.

Written, recorded and mixed in eight days, ‘Only Up’ finds Korody enlisting a whirlwind of performances from Tess Parks, Cadence Weapon and an array of names from the Toronto music scene, including members of Orville Peck, Tallies, Vallens, Zoon, Sauna, Fake Palms, Rapport, Praises, Civic TV, Moon King, Blonde Elvis, For Jane, Ducks Ltd, TOPS and Broken Social Scene. The record sees Korody digging through and channeling three decades of anthemic British bands, from the angular guitars of late 70’s post-punk (Gang Of Four, Wire), to the lush gloom of 80’s electro-pop (Tears for Fears, OMD), with the dance floor psychedelia of the Manchester sound (Primal Scream, Happy Mondays), and through the late ’90s and early 2000s post-punk/new wave revivalists, ‘Only Up’ celebrates it’s sound cathartically.

Hard Boiled Wonderland finds Korody working between the sounds of Chemical Brothers disco and the colourful house aesthetics of The Orb and Primal Scream’s ‘Screamadelica’. Heady rhythms are bedded with fuzzy synths and angular guitars.

Speaking about the new single, Korody says: “Hard Boiled Wonderland is an important track to me because it was the first song on the album I put vocals down for. I essentially found my “new voice” which ends up dominating the record. I really love the energy of this track so much. Lyrically it’s the only song that isn’t about anything specific. It’s a complete stream of consciousness style of writing as a result of the early stages of the pandemic and feeling extremely existential which ends up making the song quite nihilistic while still anthemic.” 

When originally asked to make this album for Hand Drawn Dracula, Korody and his long time friend and music collaborator Kyle Connolly (Orville Peck, The Seams, Wish) quickly threw down ideas in a session, however with Connolly embarking on a world tour, and with Korody’s demanding schedule at his Candle Recording Studio, the project sat unattended. But by the time of the album’s delivery deadline, Korody not only orchestrated a creative ensemble of friends and collaborators, he wrote, recorded and mixed the entirety of the album in two weeks without a single regret or compromise.

‘Only Up’ track listing

1. Intro
2. Come Around (feat. Cadence Weapon)
3. Let In In
4. Ecstasy On Keele Street
5. Hard-Boiled Wonderland
6. Our Scene
7. Bummer
8. Release The Pain
9. Don’t Cry
10. Only Up (feat. Tess Parks)

Hand Drawn Dracula will release ‘Only Up’ worldwide on August 26th, 2021. Pre-order here. 

Rough Trade UK and USA will have a limited edition orange vinyl too. Pre-order here.