At this point we’d say we’re nearing the solar return of 90’s post-hardcore. We’ve been lucky enough to see some titans revived like Dazzling Killmen and June of 44 not to mention revivals from smaller but essential acts like Volta do Mar and Drill for Absentee.
Through labels like Computer Students and Expert Work, the movement’s been established as real, concrete, and as appreciated as ever, if not even more so. In fact, over the last decade we’ve seen such a surge in 20th century appreciation that sometimes we’ll hear a band from today and think “oh, who’s that? some kind of sub-pop band we missed?”
Even when we’re wrong, in our book, this is a good, even great thing. When a band like Birth (Defects) pops up in your inbox and it has the Expert Work sticker on it, AND the Reptilian Records sticker, we didn’t even have to think about whether or not we’d want to do an exclusive.
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Funny enough, “Postcards” itself is actually one of the stranger tracks on this record. It’s a cover of The Comsat Angels and it plays like a journey through the desert. Frankly it’s a surprising pick for a single, but it works. Singer Sean Gray’s delivery actually goes past the 90’s influence and sits more comfortably alongside comparisons to Robert Smith. The dramatic tones, sighs, audible eyerolls, and sense of displacement all feel real though. More than a tribute to anything in particular, you can hear Birth (Defects)’ influences without much effort, but the band treats them as lessons learned, not aspects to imitate. It feels original, or more importantly, organic, like it sprang up from truth.
In the end they’re a bit of a hard read, but we could say the same thing about a lot of our favorites, so whose to say they won’t be one of yours if they aren’t already? Apparently Lars Gotrich at NPR is a big fan:
“Noise rock for noise rock nerds by noise rock nerds. There’s a
certain kind of toxic goo mutation happening here: Bleach-era
Nirvana hooks, grueling Cherubs-style riffs, a persistent clang
and skree of too many late nights listening to Japanese noise. In
an alternate universe, these are left-field hits of a radio station
that only spurts to life when everything’s gone to hell”
His words, not ours, but also, we agree. More than that though, here’s the band on the actual background and recording of the song, including how they chose it:
Sean: The Comsat Angels were one of those bands we had been into for a while. From the start Birth (Defects), we had discussed covers that would be challenging and/or outside of what would be typical for us. The album Waiting for a Miracle became a record that Rob and I would dive deep into during the later years of Birth (Defects). What made Comsat interesting to us is that they seemed to be way more angular and minimal than their peers. A great example of this would be the song “Total War,” which uses a lot of empty space to create tension.
“Postcard” was our choice to cover because of how it combined some of that empty space with a certain kind of emotion and build-up without seeming forced. As if the only way the song could exist was this build-up and release of tension.
The song, from my perspective, seems to be about remembering something painful from your past, but each time you remember, it becomes easier to let go. Ultimately, though, no matter how much you are able to let go, that memory will never quite go away. It will always be there with you for better or worse. In the end, as it stays with you, that memory, as easy as it’s become to deal with, changes into something that while still painful is always worth remembering. You almost romanticize it and can’t imagine living without that memory…
Rob: When we recorded this with J. Robbins at his Magpie Cage studio in Baltimore, we experienced a little studio magic with this song. I tracked the “solo,” which I had done very little prep for aside from the walk-up at the end of it. My plan was to just make a lot of wild feedback, but somehow between smashing my palm into my pickups and bending the guitar physically around the speaker cabinet, I managed to deliver something that felt like a “noise solo” for lack of a better term. I got that take on the first try and knew that had to be the one.
And to our surprise, J. had never heard of The Comsat Angels before. So we got to introduce the guy who played in Government Issue and Jawbox to Comsat.
Like we said, 90’s music is making a cosmic journey right now so we’re not surprised to see those comparisons, but we also think there’s a lot more going on the more you listen. Thankfully, their album Fictional Days comes out May 22nd. Pre-order it here.