Calgary post-punk outfit Preoccupations have shared a video for “Compliance,” the epic instrumental closer of their 2018 album New Material. The black-and-white video was directed by Nicholas Brown and Evan Henderson, and follows a forest spirit named Mariah as she explores a post-apocalyptic universe.
“Mariah has awakened from eons of slumber to a world that has long been abandoned by humans and heavily mutated by their waste and consumption,” Preoccupations say of the video in a statement. “As Mariah struggles to make sense of this new world, she grieves for the one she has lost forever. The Mariah creature was painstakingly designed and constructed by Brown, portrayed by Henderson, and captured by the haunting and beautiful cinematography of Adam Stewart. ‘Compliance’ brings a close to this chapter of the band as we look towards the future and marvel at the new heights their music will take.”
Along with the video, Preoccupations have also announced a string of tour dates for this spring that cover much of southern and western Europe.
Also a celebrated visual artist, VanGaalen is widely renowned for his illustration and animation work. As with his previous albums – Infiniheart, Skelliconnection and the Polaris short-listed Soft Airplane, VanGaalen illustrated all of the art for Diaper Island – and is in the midst of animating a music video as well. He has animated music videos for folks like J Mascis, Guster, and Holy Fuck, and his videos have been collectively viewed well over a million times on YouTube.
VanGaalen has been quietly building a catalogue of songs that invite listeners to gently explore his distinctive creativity. Diaper Island extends the adventure into deeper territory, tapping into VanGaalen’s lifeblood and mining the richness of his mind with sharper tools.
As always, VanGaalen wrote, played, and produced all of the music on Light Information (save Ryan Bourne’s bass part on “Mystery Elementals” and vocals on “Static Shape” from his young daughters Ezzy and Pip), and designed the cover art. The product of six years’ work, going back even before 2014’s Shrink Dust, Light Information emerged from the experimental instruments that fill VanGaalen’s Calgary garage studio. Among them is a beloved Korg 770 monosynth, which VanGaalen coveted for years before fixing one up and devoting a lot of recent energy to recording “duets” with it. One of these, “Prep Piano and 770,” is the lone instrumental on Light Information, more atmosphere and chord bursts than the rest of the album’s hooky rock narrative.
‘Light Information’ Release date: September 8, 2017 on Sub Pop Records.
The song “Old Heads” is a sci-fi space anthem to technology that constantly replaces itself, proving both necessary and unnecessary at the same time. It’s also a jangly pop gem, a trip through the fantastical that is ultimately warm and relatable. This remarkable coexistence is one of many achievements of Chad VanGaalen’s Light Information, his sixth record on Sub Pop Records.
For an album that’s about “not feeling comfortable with really anything,” as VanGaalen says, Light Information is nonetheless a vivid, welcoming journey through future worlds and relentless memories. The rich soundscapes and sometimes jarring imagery (“I’ll be the host body, yes, for the parasitic demons. They can eat me from the inside out, I already hear them chewing.”) could only come from the mind of a creative polymath–an accomplished visual artist, animator, director, and producer, VanGaalen has scored television shows, designed puppet characters for Adult Swim, directed videos for Shabazz Palaces, Strand of Oaks, METZ, Dan Deacon, and The Head and the Heart, and produced records for Women, Alvvays, and others.
While alienation has always been a theme of VanGaalen’s music, Light Informationdraws on a new kind of wisdom–and anxiety–gained as he watches his kids growing up. “Being a parent has given me a sort of alternate perspective, worrying about exposure to a new type of consciousness that’s happening through the internet,” he says. “I didn’t have that growing up, and I’m maybe trying to preserve a little bit of that selfishly for my kids.”
As always, VanGaalen wrote, played, and produced all of the music on Light Information (save Ryan Bourne’s bass part on “Mystery Elementals” and vocals on “Static Shape” from his young daughters Ezzy and Pip), and designed the cover art. The product of six years’ work, going back even before 2014’s Shrink Dust, Light Information emerged from the experimental instruments that fill VanGaalen’s Calgary garage studio. Among them is a beloved Korg 770 monosynth, which VanGaalen coveted for years before fixing one up and devoting a lot of recent energy to recording “duets” with it. One of these, “Prep Piano and 770,” is the lone instrumental on Light Information, more atmosphere and chord bursts than the rest of the album’s hooky rock narrative.
“If I was going to go out and buy a record, I would probably want it to sound only like that,” says VanGaalen. “That one’s for me.”
Throughout the dark-wave reverb of Light Informationare stories of paranoia, disembodiment, and isolation–but there’s also playfulness, empathy, and intimacy. “I sit and do a drawing, a portrait of my dad,” sings VanGaalen on “Broken Bell.” “I should really visit him before he is dead. Cuz we are getting old. Our cells just won’t divide like they told us. But I’m not really good at this kind of thing.”
But VanGaalen is good at a lot of things–and he’s trying to pursue them for the right reasons. “I’m just trying to get over the weight of feeling like I have to be making something of my time constantly,” he says. “Especially with kids, you get these small breaks where you get to make stuff, and now I try to say ‘you know what, I’m going to make something for me.’”
And if he could make anything for himself, it would be without constraint. “I would love to build a living structure from scratch,” he says. “I’ve slowly been ripping my studio apart and building additions, but you’re always kind of down to this box. I’d love to explore more open forms of architecture, with an endless supply of materials to use, even garbage. Building codes keep us in these boxes–You can’t just build a giant hand made out of wood that’s the size of a house to live in. But we really should be able to do that.”
A notorious homebody, Chad VanGaalen is well known for rarely leaving his rickety house in Calgary, endlessly drawing, recording and making art. With Diaper Island, VanGaalen distills his approach, producing his most sonically cohesive album to date, and the closest thing he has done to a rock album.
Also a celebrated visual artist, VanGaalen is widely renowned for his illustration and animation work. As with his previous albums – Infiniheart, Skelliconnection and the Polaris short-listed Soft Airplane, VanGaalen illustrated all of the art for Diaper Island – and is in the midst of animating a music video as well. He has animated music videos for folks like J Mascis, Guster, and Holy Fuck, and his videos have been collectively viewed well over a million times on YouTube.
VanGaalen has been quietly building a catalogue of songs that invite listeners to gently explore his distinctive creativity. Diaper Island extends the adventure into deeper territory, tapping into VanGaalen’s lifeblood and mining the richness of his mind with sharper tools.
The renaming of the band formerly known as Viet Cong was, depending on your opinion, either a fuss about nothing or something they dragged their heels over and should’ve sorted out ages ago. I love the gravity of this record. The vocals are stern and low-register, the bass is urgent and pressing, and the song titles (Anxiety, Degraded,Forbidden) aren’t exactly a laugh-a-minute, but this is fine doom-laden post-punk.
It’s a somber tone with which to begin proceedings but Preoccupations (Formerly known as Viet Cong) are an uncompromising band – from the outset, they’re only interested in realising their own vision, following their own individual path. They do say you only get one chance to make a first impression but here, on their second self-titled album, they’ve somehow rubbished the rules of one of the oldest proverbs around.
Songs generally take a more structured ‘verse and chorus’ approach than on the eponymous Viet Cong album from last year. Saying that, the 11-minute ‘Memory’ is quite an epic, rolling what could be two or three songs into one. It’s synth-driven section somewhere in the middle is a real magic moment on the record, as Matt Flegel’s vocals suddenly turn unexpectedly high-pitched.
The fresh start may have been forced on them, It has been a big year for Preoccupations. Between a name change, and relentless touring, and a new album, the Calgary natives have found ways to remain in the indie rock spotlight. Their last two albums received glowing reviews, while stoking controversy for their previous moniker, Viet Cong. With a new name, the Preoccupations self-titled album is a third attempt at a first impression, and it is receiving outstanding reviews.
Despite the heavier explorations on Preoccupations’ new album, I am surprised by the friendly and easygoing voice on the other side of the phone. Scott “Monty” Munro has been the guitarist-keyboardist for Preoccupations since the band’s formation in 2012. I spoke with him about the new album, the band’s endless gigging, their creative processes, and future endeavors
Preoccupations – “Memory” from ‘Preoccupations’ out September 16th, 2016 on Jagjaguwar Records
A dour start it may be but “you can’t feel happy every day”, so the line in “Zodiac” goes, as the pace steps up another notch. Motoric pulses agitate, a wide bass line booms bombastically and guitars robotically chime with millisecond precision.
As a genre, post punk might be decades old but it’s not necessarily a tired one. Every now and again a band comes to attention to reawaken the genre with as much vibrant urgency, as it’s late-70s inception. Post punk still has the potential to make a rare exception and deliver originality because at its essence is a delicate balance of ingredients for forward thinking, alternative music – the positive yin: a no-wave artistry, in constant search of innovative, fresh sounds and the negative yang: a punk rock, rebellious attitude that operates outside of convention.
The balance continues: Preoccupations is not just a record of harsh bangs and explosive moments. It is equally a subtly nuanced album, with considered composition just as important a part of the process. The record ebbs and flows from one movement to the next with thoughtful progression.
The most powerful of progressions comes four tracks in, with a reminiscent twist. If “Memory” serves us correctly, a Joy Division-esque, half-spoken chant gives way to a choked-with-emotion New Orderish wail. It’s Preoccupations’ own rose-tinted, post punk documentary of the developments from 1977-82 in under seven minutes and suddenly we’re uplifted – ears are pricking up, parties are starting up and revelers are coming up. The album thankfully then affords us a well-needed few minutes of soundscape relaxation, to allow us all time to collect our thoughts before picking up the beat once more.
With a conciliatory tone and a shrug of the shoulders, Flagal reminds us that “we’re all gonna die”, as desperate guitar sirens ring out their warnings. With “Stimulation” we are able to reach our peak and finalise this record as a shining example, that great post punk is still a possibility nearly four decades on from its beginings.
Preoccupations’greatest asset is in its breadth of ability; spontaneous, yet considered; off-kilter, but instinctive; eccentric, although well composed. The artists formerly known as Viet Cong are releasing their first new album under their new name. The also self-titled album features their singles “Anxiety” and “Degraded.”
“Degraded” from ‘Preoccupations’ out September 16th, 2016 on Jagjaguwar Records
On their debut album, Viet Cong have tapped into the 1970s like no other band. Viet Cong is the logical progression of Roxy Music, Brian Eno, Berlin-era David Bowie, and Krautrock. But it’s more than that. It’s an LP that’s the result of a band answering the following question: “What would happen if the experimental pop of the 1970s somehow infiltrated the sound of power pop and indie rock bands?” Most likely, an unheard of music, replete with energy, hooks, electronics, and prog textures.
Soon we’ll be referring to these four Canadian white guys by a different name, so let’s focus on the music. It’s fantastic music: raw and scraping, delivered with a brute-force primitivism that makes it feel less like the work of men than hyper-intelligent beasts who discovered fire and turned it into post-punk. But this band’s appeal is not all about visceral impact; their self-titled debut album boasts rich harmonic density, haunting vocals, and high-register guitar parts with a neon glint. In a world where Wolf Parade broke up and the once-mighty Interpol have became a shadow of a parody, we needed a new band like this.
So fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with animator Stephen McNally. Through his genius animation, he’s captured the lyrical theme – the desire to be loved yet a longing to be whole on one’s own.
We’re playing shows in Europe over the next month, put on your warm jacket and make the trek to come experience us
Braids “Deep In The Iris” LP, Braids is an art rock band from Calgary, Alberta, currently based in Montreal, Quebec. Braids currently consists of Raphaelle Standell-Preston, Austin Tufts and Taylor Smith. The band met at a young age and began collaborating in high school
Tigerwing is Sarah Kelly. It’s like her alter-ego, or better yet, a part of her she just can’t shake, and neither should she! Kelly writes and produces her own music and is the eye behind all Tigerwing’s artful aesthetics. Let’s just say Kelly is arty-farty, a term I use to describe myself, from time to time, it’s a good thing.
Her fluttery vocals fall upon layers of syn-pop fusion and chilled out beats. The sound is delicate in parts, yet uncertainty and darkness lurk around corners ready to strike. It’s that uncertainty I like in her work. It feels like nothing is forced and Tigerwing just happens organically.
This week’s World Cafe: Next artist, Calgary’s Viet Cong,released its full-length debut last week. It’s not so much a dark record as a harsh one: This is a guitar-intensive rock band whose songs stretch out with some sturm and drang, while still finding ways to get under your skin. Hear two songs from Viet Cong.
Viet Cong feature two ex-members (bassist Matthew Flegel and drummer Michael Wallace) of Calgary band Women, who were a difficult listen indeed. Viet Cong offer more immediate pleasures, if you’re a fan of dark and dramatic, postpunk, goth-ish rock such as Joy Division, the Cure and even Psychedelic Furs. They’re very early 80s, not in the new romantic sense, but in the sense of bands indulging their miserabilist sides before the Smiths added humour to the mix. Their first EP Cassette came out on Mexican Summer but have since signed to Jagjaguwar, with an album . Expect it to include Silhouettes, which has an Interpol-like urgency to it, Continental Shelf, on which they channel the wild spirit of the Doors, and Bunker Buster, a hypnotic groove with jagged guitars slashing across the rhythm’s surface. And you can dance to it
The Fat Angel Sings 