The darkly cool stabs, the unadulterated badassery of "Crooked Teeth", by San Diego- California based Hauntu, is so artful, so filmic that it feels like a pure veinal injection of storytelling. It is, in fact, so impactful that you want to see the story from this bands pointed perspective, sit around have a drink and pick the innards of this song apart like black vultures fully invested in a piece of roadkill on a Georgia road. The guitar attack here might be the maestro but the entire band throttles and pummels away as Rebecca Antuna's vocal countenance feels scowly and scornfully fierce. I also love the other male voice and the interplay between that vocal and Antuna's like the aforementioned vultures fighting for scraps. Love the sound here. The massive and majestic heaviness.
So many times, for whatever reason, when I write my thoughts about artists I feel the need to pull up other artists as sonic touchstones. I do this off the cuff and here I feel an amalgam of Them Crooked Vultures and PJ Harvey (circa Rid of Me - 1993) and oddly (or not) I am thinking of the tracks "Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up" (TCV) and "Man-Size" (PJ Harvey). There is something in the subversive underpinnings of these pieces and the throttling, angular alt rock shapes / drama / artistry that I feel in "Crooked Teeth" as well. The Official Video is fucking killer too.
Enjoy, I know you will.
LYRICS
It’s not about you
I bet you’re unaware
How exhausting
And so very unfair
Do you wonder
How it feels
To be real
I was older
But I’m younger
And wiser now
You were sleeping
I was weeping
Right here
Scold me lightly
Before my eyes turn black
Put your hand in my mouth
And say please
I’ll show you all my crooked teeth
Manifest all your troubles within me
I see your side eye
Scoring me
-Robb Donker Curtius
I bet you’re unaware
How exhausting
And so very unfair
Do you wonder
How it feels
To be real
I was older
But I’m younger
And wiser now
You were sleeping
I was weeping
Right here
Scold me lightly
Before my eyes turn black
Put your hand in my mouth
And say please
I’ll show you all my crooked teeth
Manifest all your troubles within me
I see your side eye
Scoring me
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/hauntuhauntme
https://www.instagram.com/hauntuhauntme
https://hauntuhauntme.bandcamp.com/track/crooked-teeth
Immediate. Dangerous. Real. These were the first words uttered to describe Hauntu. A product of pandemic isolation, these initial tracks from Hauntu were written as a reaction to what’s become of the world these last few years. The weight, the panic, and the dread that living through post-pandemic capitalism and imperialism has placed upon humanity. There is a fine balance between the urgency for action, and the need to escape to seek solace throughout these songs. Hauntu’s sound is dark, heavy, and straight to the gut with hints of metal and goth strewn throughout its garagey undertones. But not all is bleak - Hauntu’s message is also filled with beauty and hope. Songs like “Panic” show a slightly lighter side, with a somewhat satirical take on late night panic attacks in contrast to the harsh realities conveyed through “End of Days.” Taking inspiration from bands like Wipers and Hot Snakes with a very immediate, in your face approach to fast down-stroked guitars, and infusing layers of lush, pretty, and dare I say catchy melodic female vocals. Vocals that give Hauntu their true identity, separating them from all others. This isn’t your run of the mill guitar band, this is something new, something we haven’t heard before. It’s immediate, it’s dangerous, it’s real, and it’s going to leave a mark. Hauntu features current and former members of the bands: Tulpa Luna/Warsaw, Holy Tears, Island of Thieves, Sleeping Ghost, Ilya, Kata, Goodbye Blue Monday, The Dropscience, Like Millions, The Old in Out, Fluf, and more.
Immediate. Dangerous. Real. These were the first words uttered to describe Hauntu. A product of pandemic isolation, these initial tracks from Hauntu were written as a reaction to what’s become of the world these last few years. The weight, the panic, and the dread that living through post-pandemic capitalism and imperialism has placed upon humanity. There is a fine balance between the urgency for action, and the need to escape to seek solace throughout these songs. Hauntu’s sound is dark, heavy, and straight to the gut with hints of metal and goth strewn throughout its garagey undertones. But not all is bleak - Hauntu’s message is also filled with beauty and hope. Songs like “Panic” show a slightly lighter side, with a somewhat satirical take on late night panic attacks in contrast to the harsh realities conveyed through “End of Days.” Taking inspiration from bands like Wipers and Hot Snakes with a very immediate, in your face approach to fast down-stroked guitars, and infusing layers of lush, pretty, and dare I say catchy melodic female vocals. Vocals that give Hauntu their true identity, separating them from all others. This isn’t your run of the mill guitar band, this is something new, something we haven’t heard before. It’s immediate, it’s dangerous, it’s real, and it’s going to leave a mark. Hauntu features current and former members of the bands: Tulpa Luna/Warsaw, Holy Tears, Island of Thieves, Sleeping Ghost, Ilya, Kata, Goodbye Blue Monday, The Dropscience, Like Millions, The Old in Out, Fluf, and more.
No comments:
Post a Comment