Today I’m so excited to share with everyone an exclusive track-by-track feature from post-punk band You Said Strange for their latest LP called Thousand Shadows Vol. 2. The album just released, and is already garnering praise for its bold steps taken in the genre.
No Way Out :
”No Way Out” is the opening of Thousand Shadows Vol. 2, it is an initial situation and a triggering incident at the same time. A wall depicted along the piece, which soon or late everyone confronts. Sometimes we climb by ourselves, sometimes with the help of others. The question remains, how to bring it down.
The Raft :
”The Raft” is a revelation. A dialogue of friendship, deep, floating & vital that flows as the sun goes down. A raft riddled with anguish to which we cling so as not to sink into the abyss. A jellyfish that once submerged for good would alleviate a lot of torment.
(Song For A) Wasted Land :
First extract of the new album of You Said Strange Thousand Shadows Vol.2 which will be released on 4/28/2023, “(Song For A) Wasted Land” is a parlor, a spittoon, a true confession through which the singer reveals his fear to see his world which so much cherished and protected him becoming a dangerous trap closing on him. Between noise pop, neo psyche and shoegaze, You Said Strange embarks us in the universe of a new opus full of promises.
Control:
New feature from these 1000 shadows, “Control” addresses the forgetfulness of self in simple or harmful relationships. The dangerousness of spirits in search of redemption whatever the cost. Even if it means giving the reins of their lives to anyone, from the most tender to the most dangerous of beings. Chopped, tense instrumentation mixed with melodious and pop lines that the group masters and unveils with modesty and strength.
Rats II:
Variation number 2 of the “Talking to the Rats” interlude, found in Thousand Shadows Vol.1. Interpreted by Eliot on the grand piano that was present in the studio where we finalized the takes of Vol.2.
Trade Your Soul:
Initially recorded for “Thousand Shadows Vol.1”, “Trade Your Soul”, finally needed to hit the road again with “You Said Strange”, to perfect and affirm its identity. It is at the end of an English tour, with the Americans of “Night Beats”, that the piece takes its final aspect, with great blows of improvised writing sessions with Danny Lee Blackwell, in the smoky dressing rooms of the clubs of Albion.
Eastern Side:
”Eastern Side” is inspired by the embodied words of a young Ukrainian in the passenger seat of a tour van between the border of a country at war and Berlin. An automatic translator on application and it is a spiritual and gentle exchange that begins. It’s a moment suspended in time, when the van door closes and behind you is not the usual band of musicians but families who, for a few hours, are counting on you. An anachronistic sweetness mixed with an involuntary responsibility on the roads of the East.
What A Day:
“What a Day” is the story of a meeting between two beings who, despite the growing chaos surrounding them, manage to take the same path hand in hand, side by side despite the obstacles that stand before them. A nostalgic and rhythmic melody in three stages, “What a Day” draws its musical inspiration from American-Irish folklore.