“Default Parody” by Drahla

Leeds avant-garde post-punk band Drahla are back, with their second album “angeltape” on the way and a first song from the album “Default Parody” shared ahead of the April release.

 It’s been 5 years since “Useless Coordinates” was released, the year before the world, and in particular music/ band/ label plans were up-ended by pandemic etc. Drahla have added guitarist Ewan Barr joining vocalist and guitarist Luciel Brown, bassist Rob Riggs and drummer Mike Ainsley.

The added guitarist adds even more texture and rhythmic complexity to the band’s dark and intense sound, angular shapes stabbed out by percussive guitar chords over driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums, while Luciel Brown delivers another intriguing sing-speak narrative. Great to have them back.

“Stimulus for Living” by Drahla

UK trio Drahla have released their first album, “Useless Coordinates”. It maintains the remarkable and exemplary standard of music, lyrics, performance shown by their single and EP releases over the past few years, and delivers on their promise, with interest. Here’s “Stimulus for Living” from the album:

“Stimulus for Living” is grainy and intense, with angular shapes stabbed out by guitar chords over repetitive nagging notes, driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums, and punctuated by squalls of saxophone. It’s a template followed throughout the album, which each song twists in compelling new ways.

Drahla are Luciel Brown (guitar/ bass/ vocals) Rob Riggs (bass/ guitar/ vocals) and Mike Ainsley (Drums) along with Chris Duffin (saxophone). Their debut album “Useless Coordinates” is a powerful statement, full of an air of inscrutable mystery and intrigue. Within the debris-trail of beautifully dissonant noise Drahla merge in thrilling ways elements of post-punk with art pop and noise rock, and even some experimental free-noise elements.

There’s so much to love about this whole album. Melodic and musical, intelligent, artful and abrasive, dense and yet full of space and dynamics. It’s also crammed with lyrical labyrinths, delivered by Luciel Brown in her distinctive speak-sing stream-of-consciousness style, and fitting the atmosphere of dark paranoia invoked by the music, like overhearing the incantation of visions from a feverish hallucination.

Drahla’s debut album maintains the band’s remarkable and exemplary standard of music, lyrics, performance and also artwork and presentation. Yes, you do need to treat yourself to a copy.

“Twelve Divisions of the Day” by Drahla

“Twelve Divisions of the Day” is a new 7″ single from Leeds-based post-punk noise band Drahla. This one is released on US label Captured Tracks and the early edition came with a newsprint art booklet.

“Twelve Divisions of The Day” continues that distinctive speak-sing stream-of-consciousness delivery from Luciel Brown. It’s a bit like eaves-dropping on someone narrating their hallucination.

The music is grainy, and intense, with angular shapes stabbed out by guitar chords over repetitive nagging notes and driving hi-gain bass and propulsive drums. But it’s also agreeably musical, the lyrical imagery combining with the atmosphere of dark paranoia invoked by the music.

On the B-Side of the single is an alternate mix of the song which incorporates experimental industrial/ dance elements without messing with the weird darkness at the heart of the original. If anything, the electronic noises and distortions layer on even more unsettling atmosphere and paranoia.

That’s a brace of releases from Drahla now that have maintained an exemplary standard of music, lyrics and also artwork and presentation. Can’t wait for a whole album now!

“Form of Luxury” by Drahla

Here’s PopLib’s 4th send as a gift tip for the month – the sonic blast of Drahla’s “Form of Luxury” from their just-out “Third Article” EP.

“Form of Luxury” is from a one-sided 4 track 12″ (a half-album?) and, as with all things Drahla, the music bristles with intelligent menace, partly from the discordant sheet-lighting of the opening guitar fury, but later through the withering dead-eyed delivery of the lyrics by Luciel Brown.

“Form of Luxury” rumbles through twists and turns, the Leeds trio’s exploration of underground noise pop ebbing into reflective oddness before ending with more destructive guitar. It’s exhilarating.

Drahla’s “Third Article” EP is recommended to send as a gift to the discerning post-punk guitar-noise art-rock fan in your life.  It’s also available in LP format.

“Silk Spirit” by Drahla

“Silk Spirit” is a brand new track from Leeds based trio Drahla, previewed on their Bandcamp page ahead of the release of their first EP “Third Article” on 24 November:

The “Third Article” EP is 4 new songs, available on a one-sided 12″. If you are late to the Drahla party there were two glorious and essential 7″ singles “Faux Text” and “Fictional Decision” released in the past year.

“Silk Spirit” continues the promise of those singles – mystery, noise, melody and another intriguing talk-sing stream-of-consciousness from guitarist/ vocalist Luciel Brown, as if recalling a detailed fever-dream.

“Faux Text” by Drahla

“Is it real? Is it real?” asks Luciel Brown throughout this potent follow up to the thrilling debut “Fictional Decision” by Leeds-based trio Drahla – PopLib’s essential song of 2016.

The song is due for release in April on the Too Pure label’s singles club. Coruscating bass sets a platform for a typically cool and mysterious sing-speak stream-of-consciousness artful wordiness.

The song builds through dense layers of sonic energy as guitars buzz and menace before pulling back, introducing saxophone – some of the best wild skronking saxophone since The Stooges “1970” from their “Funhouse” album in fact – and then re-calibrating the volume for climactic ending.

It all adds up to a powerful statement and the fulfilling experience of a song merging elements of post-punk with art pop and noise rock and leaving some mystery and intrigue in its trail of beautifully dissonant noise.

The only band I can think of who may have been within striking distance of what Drahla are doing right now was Sonic Youth at the absolute apex of their dark abrasive melodic cool, around the time of their 1987 album “Sister”.

Essential Songs & Albums of 2016

In case you missed them during 2016, here’s PopLib’s 5 Essential Songs and Albums of 2016. These are limited to Bandcamp discoveries.

5 Essential Songs

 

5 Essential Albums

Essential

ɪˈsɛnʃ(ə)l

adjective

1. 1.

   absolutely necessary; extremely important

 

 

 

 

Most-viewed new song posts of 2016

At some stage in the New Year there may appear the usual lists of favourite PopLib songs and albums for the year just gone. It’s always ‘favourite’ rather than ‘best’ because the snapshots PopLib takes of the world of music is powered by happenstance of (mostly) Bandcamp discovery through various random, tangential means rather than an exhaustive survey of everything released through normal ‘music industry’ channels.

In the meantime here’s a reader-powered PopLib Top 10 selection. These are the Top Ten most-viewed posts featuring new music on PopLib in 2016. Happily, most of these songs would appear on a PopLib Top 10 ‘favourites’ list for 2016 too.

1. Let’s Eat Grandma “Eat Shiitake Mushrooms”
2. Seafog – “Raise Your Skinny Fist”
3. Wurld Series – “Orkly Kid”
4. Ego (Egoism) – “Crowd”
5. Elan Vital – “Janina”
6. Spinning Coin – “Albany”
7. Egoism – “Reason”
8. Young Hellions – “Fractures and Cacophony”
9. Drahla – “Fictional Decision”
10. Ela Orleans –“You Go Through Me”

The links above will take you through to the original PopLib post. Here is the Top 10 again in a playlist format of sorts…

Thanks to everyone who has read PopLib this year, and special thanks to all who have shared the posts. Extra special thanks to everyone who has bought a song/ album by an artist discovered via PopLib.