Cutting a menacing figure in leather, chains and ghastly makeup, Nastie Band are imposing enough on their own before you hear their lineup: Faith No More and Imperial Teen's iconic synth master Roddy Bottum, tank top–clad when not shirtless twin brothers David and Tradd Sanderson, and visual artist/project architect Frank Haines creating under the name Sandy Smiles are just a few of the rotating cast of characters appearing in the new collective. Their intense, haunting doom presence makes its world debut today with the release of Nastie Band's first-ever single "Shapeshift," along with the maxi-single release of 10 remixes created by Boddum, members of dälek and Opening Bell, and more.
Opening with whirling static soon weighted by buzzing bass and the slow introduction of other moving parts, "Shapeshift" is mind-melting destruction delivered at a lumbering, sinister pace. The staggered deliberation and sonic layering opens space for each note to bend and breathe, living out its auricular half-life to the fullest before the next brash attack comes rushing in to crush it down in a sludgy onward motion. Once the track full comes in, chilly cinematic soundscapes light up from beneath while growling guitar riffs grind under icy synth lines and hissed vocals.
"I thought it would be funny. It was terrifying," bandleader Sandy Smiles comments on the group's fiendish sonic debut. Indeed, "Shapeshift" rings like an incorporeal call to revelry dripping with shiny yet dark evil.
Next up for Nastie Band is a release show at Brooklyn Bazaar in New York City on Thursday, June 13th, one day before the 10-track tape's official release (you can pre-order at this location). An eponymous full-length will follow on July 26th — check out the track listing for both releases below and find out more about the mysterious group here.
Shapeshift maxi-single track list:
1) Shapeshift - original album version
2) Shapeshift - Castrati remix
3) Shapeshift - DSwarm remix
4) Shapeshift - Decimation Blvd remix
5) Shapeshift - Ornament remix
6) Shapeshift - M.A.L. remix
7) Shapeshift - PFV remix
8) Shapeshift - Sandy Smiles remix
9) Shapeshift - Ancient Remains remix
10) Shapeshift - Opening Bell remix
11) Shapeshift - Activated Corpse remix
Nastie Band album track list:
1) Falling in Love
2) Shapeshift
3) Lucifer's Grotto
4) Circle of Knives
5) The Widening
6) Relapse
7) A Summer With a Thousand Julys
