Back in 2011, multi-instrumentalist Dana Schechter — best known for her involvement in lauded avant-metal bands, such as Angels of Light, Wrekmeister Harmonies, Zeal & Ardor and Gnaw — set sail with Insect Ark, her minimalist, analog-synth solo endeavor. The project's undergone significant changes ever since the tour behind 2015's debut, Portal/Well, when Bay-Area metal luminary Ashley Spungin (Taurus, Purple Rhinestone Eagle, Negative Queen) came aboard as a touring — and eventually, permanent — member, bringing live drums and synths into the fold to join Schechter's lap-steel guitar and sinister bass playing.
Their personnel and palette expanded, Insect Ark now turn their focus to Marrow Hymns, the duo's sophomore effort and Profound Lore debut. The record, out February 23rd, finds Schechter and Spungin taking cues from horror-movie soundtracks, leaden psych-rock, ambient noise, EBM, and above all, its creators' existential crises, all blown up for maximum atmospheric impact. Consider the crushing, eerie, "Sea Harps," a stormy new track we're premiering today, a facsimile for what to expect from the upcoming effort: two women's combined agonies trapped amber-like, examined through prisms both fantastical and frightful.
"'Sea Harps,' a favorite in our live sets, is loosely based on the Greek myth of the Sirens," explains Schechter. "Broadcasting an ominous and lonely call into the night, the Sirens' song was irresistible to all who heard it, luring sailors to an untimely and violent death."
Pre-orders for Marrow Hymns will be available soon at this location.
