Ireland’s Adebisi Shank have arguably one of the better thinks in the math rock world in the past half decade. Sargent House has announced the details for the bands third album, This is the Third Album of a Band Called Adebisi Shank, which can be read below the cut. Stream the lead single, Big Unit, below.
Ireland’s multiple award-nominated trio Adebisi Shank share the first track from their forthcoming release This Is The Third Album of A Band Called Adebisi Shank. The song “Big Unit” is available to stream and share HERE.
This Is The Third Album of A Band Called Adebisi Shank: an explosion of optimism and musical Glasnost, an Arab Spring of instrumental harmony embracing all things awesome. It’s the sound of the Berlin Wall falling down. It’s the sound of hashtag winning. It’s the sound of musclemen with lightbulb heads that rupture from their own perfection (see cover art). In a word, it’s the sound of triumph… no matter the consequences.
“We were trying to make something euphoric and huge, a universe of our own imagination that we could escape into,” says bassist and masked man Vin. “Our inspirations were more cinematic and fantastical.” This Is The Third Album of A Band Called Adebisi Shank bursts with pure rock anthems with undeniably danceable structures. Alongside the band’s penchant for unusual instrumentation is their clever use of vocoder-effected vocals which seems to invite listeners to sing along with our robot overlords.
In creating the album’s imaginary universe, Adebisi Shank drew on a hodgepodge of inspirations, including ELO, Enya, Mike Oldfield, Pixar animated films, Crash Bandicoot video game and Game of Thrones. In 2013, the Wexford, Ireland trio consisting of guitarist/vocodist Lar Kaye, drummer Mick Roe and bassist Vin relocated to a secluded house in the wilds of county Wicklow, to avoid distractions and let their imaginations run wild. Writing and recording daily, the result is a multiverse of musical possibilities.
Album opener “World In Harmony” begins deceptively like a dying 8-bit robot’s version of Queen’s “We Are The Champions” before erupting into a full-on anthem filled with stadium chants, digital voices, flavor-blasted guitar riffs, chirping synths and pounding rhythms. Elsewhere, “Mazel Tov” portrays a strangely brave new world wherein early 90s digital funk dance pop meets contemporary indie rock to produce a stompingly catchy tune. Likewise, “Turnaround” is led by a cheery synth melody reminiscent of late-80s pop, while aggressive rhythms and chopping guitars pigpile on top. Unlike the previous album’s cavalcade of guest musicians, this recording consists mainly of the core trio writing, performing and producing, with just a few contributions from outsiders – one of which being Lar’s father, Leonard Kaye adding accordion to “Turnaround.”
This Is The Third Album of A Band Called Adebisi Shank will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download via Sargent House on August 12th, 2014.