Vancouver-based post-punk/experimental rock group Celebrity Warship Culture dropped their new album, Recreational Everything, just yesterday, September 10.
Talking about the album, the band says, “Our album ‘Recreational Everything’ represents an optimistic, youthful mindset being gradually crushed into an escapist, cynical, nihilistic one over the course of nine tracks.”
They go on to add, “‘Recreational Everything’ is a biting statement that you can find unhealthy escapism in just about anything.”
Made up of Liam Scott (guitar, bass, synthesizer, vocals), Mark Pickell (drums), Todd Pickell (synthesizer), and Trevor Gay (guitar, bass, vocals), Celebrity Warship Culture’s genesis occurred out of the ambient jams of Liam and Todd during 2017. The pair were later joined by Mark and Trevor to complete the band’s lineup.
Remarkably, Celebrity Warship Culture melds the ideas and artistry of all four musicians, eschewing reliance on a single individual. This gives their music extraordinary latitude.
The album begins with the title track, rolling out on grimy, smoldering guitar building into a gleaming yet darkly hued shoegaze tune. Melancholic vocals infuse the lyrics with dreamy savors, urgent and brooding.
Highlights include “Medicational Nothing” with its blend of new wave auras and rasping, anguished vocals. While “Rebirther” recalls stripped-down Depeche Mode because of its warped guitar textures and deep vocal timbres.
One of the best tracks is “Current Nostalgia,” riding flavors of dream-pop and shoegaze topped by Brit-laced vocals reminiscent of David Bowie crossed with Bruce Springsteen. In effect, the tune reveals surfaces of Midwestern alt-rock amalgamated with hints of new wave aromas.
The last track, “Bill Hader,” fuses the prog-rock tangs of Rush with the raw, grunge of Nirvana, resulting in a dirty, brawny tune rife with gang-like rap-lite vocals. Cacophonous guitars inject the tune with murky, blistering, gritty tones.
Initially reflecting positive sonic melodies, each subsequent song becomes more visceral and anarchic, echoing despair and pessimism, chronicling evolving suspicion and latent resentment. Although dark in overall aspect, Recreational Everything warrants attention.
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