Portland’s Childspeak have been one of the most interesting math rock / post-rock bands to come out of the PNW for the past several years, and they’re making Christmas come early premiering a new song off their upcoming 2023 album Datura.
I’m always excited for new music from Fecking Bahamas contributors, so call me biased, but Editor in Chief Michael Whiteside and company have never sounded better than on “Shame Bats” which we’re proud to be premiering.
The song kicks off with an acoustic guitar riff that quickly builds into the full-band bringing in a lush dreamy atmosphere that sounds like a mix of Pelican with early 70’s Meddle-era Pink Floyd.
The band then invites you on a musical journey that ebbs and flows in showcasing the band’s great dynamic control and sense of melody along with some interesting rhythmic patterns that create a certified banger of a track from beginning to end.
Check it out below.
Childspeak do a great job of building tension and release through “Shame Bats” and by the end of the track they bring the heat with the guitar work turning up to 11 and sounding a lot like Town Portal by the final climax. If you like your post-rock / math rock / prog with some edge to it and enjoy post-metal influence a la Russian Circles sprinkled in, then we can’t recommend enough that you check out this new track from Childspeak.
I’m already adding Datura, the band’s new album coming out in spring of 2023, to my list of anticipated albums of next year. If the rest of the album sounds like “Shame Bats” I would expect to see Childspeak get mentioned a lot in the math rock / post-rock world next year.
[Editor’s Note: Will was beyond generous with this writeup, both in it’s heaps of praise and swift delivery. Be sure to check out his other articles on the site and his myriad of musical projects, from his cinematic solo work to the chaotic goodness of Space Blood. Thanks again Will, and thanks again to everyone else for reading! – MW]