When you picture a “power trio,” what comes to mind? For some, the term may conjure up a skronky nightmare of wailing neo-blues rock or failed teenage garage dreams. Even worse, maybe the term is so evil that it summons that one technicolor robot armadillo on the cover of Tarkus; and, once again, you’re forced to existentially battle against some hidden love for Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Sound familiar? Well, it’s time to put that baggage aside and embrace Blind Thorns — a group that’s probably less of a “power trio” and more of a friendly spar between three martial arts masters. Or it could be chess? Or it could just be a SICK new project featuring a guitarist, a drummer, and a demonically inspired Swiss improvisational vocalist?
The group originates in the musical dialogue between guitarist Shane Perlowin and percussionist Ryan Oslance of the avant-rock group Ahleuchatistas. That band blends both the cerebral and aggressive characteristics of Perlowin’s playing with Oslance’s tendency to use EVERY possible object as a percussive means to a transcendent end. Blind Thorns takes these sonic materials and adds vocalist Antoine Läng — a collaboration that probably has roots in Perlowin’s
knack for crafting impromptu records with some of the world’s great improvisors — among them Tatsuya Nakatani, Jacob Wick, and Läng himself.
Their new track, “A railway diversion,” has the trio incorporating some of Ahleuchatistas more abstract tendencies verbatim; however, the guitar and percussion take more environmental roles that help propel Lang’s wild howls in ecstatic directions. It’s a slow takeoff, but once Oslance’s preliminary chain-swinging grows into a driving, skittering rhythm the whole thing ascends beautifully.
Check out the track below and get hyped on their self-titled full-length LP and CD (preorder) out late July on New Atlantis Records.
• Blind Thorns: https://soundcloud.com/blindthorns
• New Atlantis Records: http://www.newatlantisrecords.com
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