photo courtesy of Kathryn Harvy
The surprising tonal shifts, emotional velvet curtains, dark reveals of "Insect", by Kaurna Yerta/South Australia's art hybrid rock outfit Placement, is a veritable feast for the soul for those of you who like music with maze like diversions and conceptually rich abstractions. The track opens with high hat percussions, crystalline chords and Malia Wearn's beautifully wistful vocal reach, think Bond noir as directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and then mere moments later the first diversion happens. Amid eerie transmissions, the mood gets heavier with big guitar falls and dissonant tensions with a wonderful spoken word thing happening, think sideways horror / thriller pulp with comedic touches as directed by David Robert Mitchell. This pattern between the beguiling sung narrative and askew spoke word repeats...
"Battle softened
We win til we dieOn our lonesome
In the streetlight
Wilted longing
Until the day you realise
You’re just an insect
That’s somehow left after the crush
Of every sunset
Yet still you’ll wilt and turn to dust"
And then, at a bit over 2 minutes, a dramatic shift, a musical bridge as a prelude to something else. This building descent marked by subtle background squealing clarinet and saxophone, ambient artful static and more with winding up electric guitar through an am radio. Finally at around 2 minutes and 35 seconds and purely muscular guitar riff / prog is spotlit as things to come and it is brilliant as presented, had me thinking a bit of an amalgam of James Mankey and Ritchie Blackmore (respectively from Concrete Blond and Deep Purple) in terms of swagger / hard edges.
The outro, the sonic mayhem that ensues is totally smile inducing, a barrage of metal madness with a whirlwind cacophonous blend of the aforementioned squealing clarinet and saxophone. At some point throughout all this my peaked eyebrows and sideways smile contorts to wide eyes and a maniacal smile of pure joy, the lean artistically like artful swagger and "over the top" hysteria finale as directed by Italian-Canadian filmmaker Panos Cosmatos.
Love this track and as someone who loves to be surprised, this is one of those rare coins you unknowingly given by a shopkeeper.
about the track, vocalist Malia share some of the sad seeds of "Insect":
“I had a cat called Cash. He was hard to live with, stinky, wild, murderous and uncontainable. He would disappear sometimes for days and we would wonder if he would one day disappear forever. But I found him straight away that morning, draped across the pavement. I had to wait for a car to pass between us before I could reach him. Did they see him as they sped past, one of the many insects crushed on the road, drawn to the light, to the furnace. How long did he lie there in a halo of streetlight, just outside the cemetery gates? He had jaws that bit and teeth that caught, an insect like me.”
“I had a cat called Cash. He was hard to live with, stinky, wild, murderous and uncontainable. He would disappear sometimes for days and we would wonder if he would one day disappear forever. But I found him straight away that morning, draped across the pavement. I had to wait for a car to pass between us before I could reach him. Did they see him as they sped past, one of the many insects crushed on the road, drawn to the light, to the furnace. How long did he lie there in a halo of streetlight, just outside the cemetery gates? He had jaws that bit and teeth that caught, an insect like me.”
Placement here is wildly interesting and while they are so unique as to be hard to compare to other bands / artists, in terms of artistic temperament, creative fluidity and while listening I am, for whatever reason, feeling some sort of connections to PJ Harvey's "I Inside the Old I Dying" and Concrete Blonde (and by extension guitarist James Mankey), to Angelfish circa Suffocate Me, to Toyah circa Thunder In The Mountains (oddly enough) and tangentially, James Chance and the Contortions. When I say connections, I am referring to how "Insect" feels like a creative bridge to other pieces of art. As I have said in the past, often, for me songs are like sonic Rorschach tests and I love listening to a new creative art piece that makes me flash on other artist's visions amongst the splatter.
Credits:
Vox: Malia Wearn
Guitar: Alex Dearman
Bass: Kim Roberts
Clarinet/saxophone: Stuart Patterson
Drums: Giuseppe Caporaso
LINER NOTES (bracketed):
[Out via Clarity Records on June 27,‘Insect’ pulls Placement’s formidable sound deeper into the shadows, offering bleak commentary on mortality, decay and existential doom that glows with playful energy. Amongst the brooding instrumentation and narrative-style vocals, moments of sparkling beauty emerge, with the band feeling much more human than the winged creatures they liken themselves to.
Watch the music video shot, directed and edited by guitarist Alex Dearman.]
Watch the music video shot, directed and edited by guitarist Alex Dearman.]
- Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://placementnoisemusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/placementnoisemusic/
https://www.facebook.com/placementnoisemusic
With a nod to grimy 90’s bands reclaiming and celebrating guitar music, Placement lean into guitar you want to hum, and a rhythmic often spoken vocal that glues the groove, steering it through expansive storytelling, humour and the poetry of the everyday.
Formed by a group of creatives from Kaurna Yerta/South Australia, Placement have spent the last few years honing their live sound, playing across the East & South coasts of Australia, and have quickly built a reputation for their ferocious live performance. With countless international supports, a busy touring schedule and a freshly finished debut album soon to be released, Placement are carving a place in the Australian alternative scene though new creative frontiers.
Following an electrifying 18-month run performing alongside acts like Superchunk (USA), Quicksand (USA), and Tropical Fuck Storm, Placement returned strong with new single, ‘Inertia / Heavy Lids’ at the start of 2025, quickly following up with the brooding, existential ‘More a Curse’.
Woven to their desire for the beauty of what lies between the notes, beneath the conventional, and into the realm of experimental is a deep love for the anthemic melody and potent storytelling anchoring Placement’s debut album, ‘Insect’.
Pulling these often opposing, yet independently powerful forces together, the band have produced an adventurous, yet infectious and insightful sound glued by Malia Wearn’s unmistakable and irresistibly mysterious voice.
Featuring a slew of brand new material sewn together by haunting interludes, ‘Insect’ pulls Placement’s formidable sound deeper into the shadows, offering bleak commentary on mortality, decay and existential doom that glows with playful energy.
Like an insect, Placement are drawn to the light of flame, navigating the expanse of sonic possibility.
Placement, alt rock, indie rock, hybrid rock, art rock, avant garde, prog rock, art punk, "Insect" (Official Video), abstract lyrics, progressive tonal shifts, blendo rock, Malia Wearn’s unmistakable voice, dark,
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