Hamilton’s WTCHS is a nebulous beast. After forming in 2011, they did it up DIY proper, founding their own label called PERDU to release their two/three-minute bursts of angular, abrasive, grungy post-rock in line with the likes of Odonis Odonis and Das Rad. Several cassettes and 7-inches later, they signed with one of the biggest indie labels in Canadian history, Sonic Unyon, then promptly fell off the map. Their upcoming album, She Walks, She Creeps, will be their first new music in over two years when it hits shelves on October 28, and displays significant internal and aesthetic changes that are evident right from its opening track, “Black Actors,” which they have graciously chosen to premiere with TMT.
To bring you She Walks, She Creeps, they survived several line-up changes (now up to five enigmatic sound warriors), and tossed an entire album into the recycle bin in order to focus on “longer songs, more noise, more feedback and then even more noise.” Indeed, their average track length is now over six minutes, and their sonic assault has reached a level of grandeur most commonly associated with Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
“Black Actors” itself stretches over ten minutes, and it’s quite a ride. It begins with vaguely rhythmic guitar distortion and small screeches of feedback; then drums start pounding, and the feedback starts to coalesce into righteous riffs, just before the moaning vocals kick in. The haunting violin that creeps in halfway through and the screamed vocal “This is war!” fading out into the driving feedback and distortion at its conclusion hammer home the Godspeed vibe.
Experience the epic “Black Actors” for yourself below.
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