"life's a shit storm maelstrom on a good day"
P.A.S.C. (Post-Apocalypse Survival Crew) by Brooklyn's Haunted Continents (the solo musical project of singer-songwriter James A.M. Downes) is a folk rock tinged indie pop track that is incredibly exuberant and tender considering, as Downes put is, "a tongue in cheek love letter between two survivors of the apocalypse" and, as all inclusive pop rock it sounds, it does have a pained, sad underbelly evoked by Downes vocal performance that has a nice settled in, dare I say, comfortable (best friend) quality.
The song had me from the beginning after hearing the line, "life's a shit storm maelstrom on a good day" as well as the sort of 90's college rock prog and full middle of the road rock tones ala Tom Petty or Dwight Twilly. The chorus gets very commercially pop forward (but I will forgive that- wink) because Downe's sells it well anchoring with his evocative vox and, besides, it is so damn sing-a-long-eee:
"and I get choked up thinking bout all we've been through
how we're too stubborn for the grave
that's why you're in my Post-Apocalypse Survival Crew
you know I'll bleed for you, do anything for you"
About the song, Downes shares:
"It's a statement of dedication to the people we need and love the most during times of incredible instability."
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
hauntedcontinents
Haunted Continents is the solo project of Brooklyn based singer-songwriter James A.M. Downes. James has been around since 2002, knee deep in the basements of the American north east indie/hardcore scene. You’ll still catch an earful of crassly eloquent lyrics that will resonate with anyone who loves love but feels angry and itchy when surround by the herd. Yet all these years later James finds himself trading the fuzzed out decibels for something a bit more alluring and subversive.
Starting in the Summer of 2020, Haunted Continents will release a second string of quasi-monthly singles, starting with the upbeat indie/alternative rocker “P.A.S.C.” (Post-Apocalypse Survival Crew). As a love letter between two survivors of the apocalypse, the song’s romantic yet satirically morbid lyrics fit perfectly on the book shelf with the project’s other works.
In September of 2018, Haunted Continents entered the scene by releasing a string of six singles, spaced a month apart. The songs (all released on Downes’ own Forest Park Recordings) reverberate with lush guitar beds over new-retro progressions creating a sound that fans of The Shins or Death Cab for Cutie would find shelter in. These new songs gives breath to narratives that teem with dark humor and humility, taking the listener from debaucherous parties in the underworld all the way to the ghostly desolate bedrooms of former lovers, long since vanished.
While features of James' previous EP (Prison Font) in Relix Magazine and a feature/nomination for Deli Magazine NYC’s “Favorite Emerging Artist” help circulate the recorded music, James continues to bring the live show all around the east coast. Whether performing as a yearning cello/guitar duet or leading a bruising and beautiful full band, most concert goers would agree with The Deli’s Henry Solotaroff-Webber in saying that “James boldly [displays] his talent as a songwriter, and [solidifies] himself as someone to watch.”
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