Week in Pop: Fascinating, Pascale Project, WRITER

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WRITER

WRITER live at Mercury Lounge; photographed by Daniel Topete.
WRITER live at Mercury Lounge; photographed by Daniel Topete.

Presenting the follow-up to their second album Principle Web from Small Plates, WRITER triumphantly return with the world premiere of their new deluxe single suite CNWN that illustrates the trio of the Ralph brothers & Joshua Greco elevating their aesthetic & volume to higher degrees. Courtesy of Brotherface Records, recorded at Brooklyn’s Treefort Recordings & produced by Ryan Mattos; the Brooklyn band expresses the acts & sentiments of resistance that have inundated our existences & the seemingly infinite array of global turmoil. WRITER remains a band for our times, taking their moniker from the thankless art & act of composition that can comprise any number of forms & artistic mediums that are guaranteed to bring instant gratification upon first listen.
Diving head first into WRITER’s CNWN; the action begins with the title track spelled out to reveal the acronym of “Can Not Will Not” that heralds forth their sonic banner dedicated to hesitation & aversion of anything they’re not into. Employing smart arrangements to their already clever sound, one imagines WRITER developing their chord progressions & schemes according to an algorithm birthed out of practice sessions where audio equations are conveyed in aural blazes of exposition. Charged electric strings fire through “Can Not Will Not” right before the group takes off into hyper-space with with “Why My Arm” that fires off inquiries into a wave-pool of wailing chords & vocals that sounds like the greatest anthem that the 90s never gave us. And while the opening title track is well worth the price of admission, “Why My Arm” indicates some impressive & enriched new directions from one of Brooklyn’s most beloved DIY groups. The Keith Sweaty remix for “CNWN” isolates the vocals as if they were freely floating in the outer regions of the galaxy as the new keys & percussion enter into the audio frame. Bass synths & understated atmospheres come & go in the remix that spurns the deeper & deeper into a dimension that further demonstates the many inherent facets found in the WRITER sound.

WRITER at bowery ballroom
WRITER performing live at Bowery Ballroom; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.

WRITER provided us with the following exclusive preface to their new release CNWN:

WRITER’s sophomore record Principle Web (via Small Plates last fall) is the soundtrack to a dream you had about California, while living in New York, and the second single, CNWN, keeps the east coast / west coast conflict alive. The Brothers Ralph have tapped into a universal love of fucked up noise and narrative, poetic lyrics that work so well together, like a tasty PB&J that maybe has some gravel in it, but you eat it anyway. Andy’s classic So-Cal vocals ride a loud and dirty guitar and fuzz bass right off the rip while James brutalizes his drum set as always and makes you feel like you might wanna put on a pair of Doc Martens and kick the rats out of a trash pile on the street in Bushwick, but in a chilled out kinda way ya know?

WRITER.
WRITER live at Bowery Ballroom; photographed by Silvia Saponaro.

CNWN forces you to move your body, which is why the Keith Sweaty remix makes perfect sense, isolating Andy’s lyrics in a multi-layered, gurgling jacuzzi of low-end beats and reverberating samples. Like a good remix should, the K.S. treatment turns the familiar, heavy drums and soothing vocals into a rhythmic kaleidoscope that builds some tension and finishes with a sweet, satisfying release. WRITER may be asking you what this song is about, but with their much anticipated follow up to Principle Web we all know that the Ralph Bros + Joshua Greco are about polished musicianship that keeps it real.

WRITER; photographed by S. William MacNeil.
WRITER; photographed by S. William MacNeil.

WRITER’s single “CNWN” receives the Keith Sweaty remix visual treatment that sends the single hurdling out to the extensive reaches of the cosmos. The progressions are translated to electronic drum & bass characteristics that alludes toward ambient environments that makes for a spaced-out experience. As the rhythms & vocal stems soar overhead you are treated to visual feel of floating through the galaxy as electric harps guide you toward all sorts of interstellar destinations of excitement.


CNWN’s new single is available now via Bandcamp.
Catch WRITER playing the following dates:
May
02 New York NY @ Berlin
11 Queens NY @ Trans-Pecos