Let’s play word association. When I think of Quasimodo I think of hunchbacks and Victor Hugo, of course. But I also think of alienation and pain. Gentleness and redemption. Of deformities both moral and physical. (I also think of Disney and Tom Hulce, but let’s set that aside.) Similarly, when I think of Athens noise-punk duo Kwazymoto, my mind turns to ugliness and affliction. To fear and catharsis. To the examination of those dark, twisted parts of the human condition we try to turn away from.
Opening in a black cauldron of foreboding noise, human screams, and tattered drums, new single “Red Ink / Silver Clouds” wastes no time setting the listener on edge. When the song settles into a pummeling riff, it feels like a form of release. But Kwazymoto have never been about escapism or easy resolutions. What follows is a stark exploration of family abandonment, cycles of abuse, and the self-destruction they often cause. Meanwhile, bandleader Ian Hemerlein and drummer Kody Blackmon unleash a torrent of fervid noise-rock and metallic hardcore that is by turns haunting and bruising. The end result is abrasive and unsettling, setting a menacing tone for the group’s upcoming LP, Sketches of Separation.
“The song is a part of a larger narrative in the album, which is really about abuse—how and why do we let it happen,” Hemerlein says. “Stylistically, the album incorporates much more MIDI-based instrumentation throughout than on our past releases, which are usually more organic in their recording processes. The shutdown of the pandemic definitely led to experimenting with new ways for us to go about creating songs.”
Listen below.
Recorded and mixed by Hemerlein at the Glow Recording Studio and mastered by Joel Hatstat, Sketches of Separation is out Oct. 29.
Kwazymoto will celebrate the release of Sketches of Separation on Fri., Nov. 12 at Flicker Theatre & Bar. They will be supported by Maxuma and Null. Doors open at 9 p.m. Admission is $10. 18+ to enter.
More Info
Bandcamp: kwazymoto.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @kwazymot0