3 days ago
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A few weeks ago, we got an album announcement from Evil Island a new band that features Blood Brothers members Johnny Whitney, Cody Votolato, and Mark Gajadhar. Whitney felt inspired to get the band going after the recent Blood Brothers reunion tour, and the group also features former OFF/…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead bassist Autry Fulbright and ex-Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock.
Evil Island recorded their forthcoming debut album Terraform The Afterlife with notorious super-producer and onetime Blood Brothers collaborator Ross Robinson, and a few big-name guests make appearances. This is the first album, for instance, since Fugazi's farewell The Argument to feature vocals from that band's former co-leader Guy Picciotto, which is exciting. We've already heard the early tracks "Tiger Baby" and "Animal," and now they've got a new single that features Sleigh Bells singer Alexis Krauss.
You probably won't be surprised to learn that Blood Brothers and Sleigh Bells are two noise-pop flavors that taste great together. The new track "Melted Heart" is a fizzy explosion, and Krauss' cheerleader chants fit right into the overall aesthetic. In a press release, Krauss says. "I've been a huge fan of Johnny’s voice, and it was pretty surreal to get to scream and shout with him. It’s really inspiring to see all these guys giving the most to this band and generating so many great ideas. Maybe we can go on tour one day?!?" Here's what Whitney says about it:
"Melted Heart" takes place in a world where live-streamed humiliation rituals and public meltdowns have replaced talent, character, and achievement as the dominant social currency. A world where "picking fights with parked cars" is a viable career path and people high-five their hearts like gongs, hoping somebody is still watching. Its main characters are "supermodels with shit smeared in their teeth crucifying themselves on your lawn" and people "sobbing in public with chainsaws in their hands screaming, 'Give me an acid attack'" because in this world, attention isn’t earned, it’s extracted.
The Octopus Queen from the Blood Brothers’ "March On Electric Children" found her way back into the lyrics because I wanted to see if she still worked as a metaphor for the rot at the center of our culture. As it turns out, the culture is still rotten, and the Octopus Queen is still laying eggs behind our eyeballs.
Jonah Ray, of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame, directed the "Melted Heart" video, and I really wish I hadn't watched it while I was hungry. It's a cartoonish depiction of a rich guy eating a bunch of nasty shit in a fancy restaurant. Here's what Ray has to say:
I was still in high school in Hawaii when the first Blood Brothers album came out. My friends and I were obsessed. Over the years, I got to see them play around Los Angeles. I even briefly met some of the members when they stopped by the Venice Beach record store where I worked while they were recording Burn, Piano Island, Burn. At the time, I had no idea our paths would cross again.
Years later, backstage at FYF Fest, I ended up befriending Cody Votolato. That chance meeting turned into years of collaborations across various creative projects.
Cut to even more years later: Cody reunites with his former Blood Brothers bandmates in a new band and suddenly needs a music video. So, in the spirit of friendship, I called on a few of my own friends to help bring “Melted Heart” to life.
It was one of those rare full-circle moments. Making that video brought me right back to being a kid on Oahu, listening to the Blood Brothers and making weird little movies with my friends.
Check it out below.
Terraform The Afterlife is out 8/14 on Blowed Out Records.
English (US) · 