ThouShaltNot, New World EP
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Tour Dates 07/16/08 Cleveland @ The Phantasy (w/ Filament 38)
07/17/08 Chicago @ Spin Nightclub (hosted by Die Maschine) 07/18/08 Minneapolis @ Ground Zero (hosted by The Next Element) 07/19/08 Billings @ The Perk (Perkapalooza) 07/21/08 Seattle @ El Corazon 07/23/08 Salt Lake City @ Club Vegas 07/27/08 El Paso @ Soho Lounge (hosted by Sunday Mass) 07/29/08 Nashville @ The Rutledge 07/31/08 Cincinnati @ The Dock (w/ Hungry Lucy) 08/01/08 Baltimore @ Club Orpheus 08/02/08 Boston @ O’Brien’s 08/03/08 Pittsburgh @ Club Pegasus (w/ The Dark Clan) |
I’m gonna make an admission right up front here: all of the members of ThouShaltNot (Myspace) are pretty good friends of mine and I flatout love their music. I’ve gotten to know the members of many groups whose music I’ve appreciated in the past, but none as closely as Alexx Reed, Aaron Fuleki, and Jeremy Long–and a lot of that has to do with the fact that not only are they all awesome blokes, their music is so damn good that they could be complete assholes and I’d still support everything they do.
Today, ThouShaltNot is releasing a brand-new EP of five songs entitled New World. This EP is only available through the band’s website and MySpace site, or at any of the live shows listed below. If you like powerful synthpop or industrial that is not afraid to take chances and break out of the standard “4-on-the-floor” dance beats yet still rock your ass both live and on CD, then get out to see these guys and/or pick up their new EP. Trust Uncle Pegritz on this one: you won’t be sorry.
ThouShaltNot have been around for quite a while and have earned quite a reputation within the Goth/Industrial world for their energetic live shows and consistently ground-breaking albums, but they deserve to be known more widely, mainly because their music is not in any way confined to the G/I spectrum populated by such bands as The Cure, Front Line Assembly, Skinny Puppy, and The Sisters of Mercy. Led by vocalist, lyricist, and primary arranger Alex Reed, who has a doctorate in music from the University of Pittsburgh, and supported by percussionist Aaron Fuleki and guitarist Jeremy Long, TSN’s music combines elements of synthpop, oldskool industrial, post-punk, folk, indie-rock, and orchestral rock a lá Pink Floyd with an eccentric but definitely catchy pop feel that has earned them several club hits with “Inside Of You, In Spite Of You” and “Without Faith.” But you cannot pigeonhole ThouShaltNot as “just another dance band,” as each album from their original self-titled debut through this current EP has explored many different tempos, types of songs, and orchestrations. TSN is a band that is hard to pin down, but even so their music is crafted for the average listener and will be appreciated by a wide range of folks, not just musical esotericists like…well, me.
New World, in fact, is their most accessible effort yet. Beginning gently with skittery typewriter sounds, the first track, “New Year,” builds to a furious beat and pulsing electronic bassline that form a nice, solid foundation for Reed’s crystal-clear voice and the song’s Alphaville-inspired synth lead and spooky spaghetti-western guitars. “April, We Can Break Through” is a solid example of the band’s predilection for epic ballads, with its soaring melodies and lead guitar line that will hook in anyone who likes The Bravery or The Killers. If this song doesn’t haunt you with its heart-wrenching chorus and the line “There is nothing real that separates / the vision from the eye,” then you probably don’t have a pulse. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses?” turns U2’s original jam into a lovely, propulsive club banger that sounds almost like a collaboration between the Pet Shop Boys and Camouflage. While most of TSN’s music sounds very contemporary, this song almost yearns for the 1980s while still incorporating modern touches like distorted beats and heavily-arpeggiated synths. “State Road 25” is an eerie retelling of the Phantom Hitch-hiker story told from the point-of-view of the ghost, which gives the song an almost unearthly feel that is nonetheless nailed to earth by its very Roger-Waters-esque guitars and its rocking beat. “A Space Between,” a mostly-acoustic cover of a Legendary Pink Dots song, actually improves on the original and provides a nice moment of relaxation after the fury of “State Road”‘s conclusion. Finally, “New World” ends the EP with a thundering dance number that incorporates pounding beats, orchestral samples, a fist-pumping hook (“Dance into a New World!”), and…hell, everything and the kitchen sink–which I think I hear sampled somewhere near the end.
Don’t take my word for it, though. Go see the band at one of the dates listed below and tell ’em that Pegritz sent you. Hopefully, they won’t pretend they don’t know me!
I’ll have an exclusive interview with the band and review of their live show shortly after the Pittsburgh date, so stay tuned!
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