Sword Collector, the Texas darkwave duo of Carlos Cooper and Kyle James McCoy, have revealed the explosive impetus behind ‘SHRINE: Volume I,’ the band’s occult-horror-cum-post-apocalyptic-sci-fi concept album in two volumes.
‘SHRINE: Volume I’ tells the story of a group’s egress from a cult after an explosion in the sky stirs ominous interpretations and escalates authoritarianism within the last colony of the US Midwest. Communion Ov One, the first single and final act of ‘SHRINE: Volume I,’ grants insight into the final thoughts of a banished demagogue during his dying breaths. Listen to Communion Ov One via Bandcamp below.
McCoy says of the song’s meaning, “I really wanted to touch on the subjectivity of religion in this song. You see… I feel like trying to interpret the metaphysical from our physical plane is kind of like trying to translate a long-lost dead language using a modern vocabulary with no equivalent words. Even if we could somehow tap into the metaphysical, we’re not at all equipped to objectively understand it. Our religion is inevitably influenced by our own interpretations and biases, which is why I inverted the proverbial esoteric phrase in the song’s lyrics to say, ‘As below, it’s so above.’ We make our gods in our own image. If we are violent, our gods will be violent. If we are loving, our gods will be loving.”
Mixed by Phillip Odom (Code Orange, La Dispute, Ceremony), the sound engineer praised by Anthony Fantano for his “God-like ears,” SHRINE: Volume I expands both the thematic and sonic territory of Sword Collector’s well-received debut EP. Drawing influences from institutions of classic and contemporary music like Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Twin Tribes, and Drab Majesty, Sword Collector seek to make self-discovery sacred over ethereal soundscapes.
‘SHRINE: Volume I’ will be released through the record label operated by Cooper’s brick & mortar record store, Hybrid Records, on October 28, 2022.
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