Low Flying Hawks Post “Subatomic Sphere”; Fuyu out Aug. 27
Somewhere out there in the Melvinsian orbit soar Low Flying Hawks, whose third album, Fuyu, will be issued in August through Magnetic Eye Records. The follow-up to 2017’s Genkaku (review here) and 2016’s Kofuku (review here) continues the theme of Japanese-language titles — their 2019 EP, Anxious Ghosts, was a departure in that regard — and as information has gradually trickled out about who the initials-only core duo of the band is and the theme around which they’re working in their material — Sisyphus, who knew? — the plot only seems to thicken the more the riffs spread outward. “Subatomic Sphere,” the new single and second track off the record, offers breadth far and wide.
If this is the end of a trilogy, then perhaps also the beginning of something new. I don’t know, but there’s a lot of info to dig into if you’re up for that and of course the song and both came in from the PR wire:
LOW FLYING HAWKS release first single ‘Subatomic Sphere’ and details of new full-length “FUYU”
Preorders: http://lnk.spkr.media/lowflyinghawks-fuyu
Mexican-American doomgazers LOW FLYING HAWKS have released the first single ‘Subatomic Sphere’ taken from their forthcoming third full-length “Fuyu”, which will arrive in stores on August 27.
With their third full-length “Fuyu”, which means “winter” in Japanese, LOW FLYING HAWKS are completing their long-planned trilogy based on the ancient Greek myth of Sisyphos, King of Corinth, who was cruelly punished by the Olympian gods to eternally push a massive bolder up on a hill – only to see it slip and roll down again every time he neared the top.
As on their previous releases, LOW FLYING HAWKS offer a refined musical vision of their individual melange, which might be tentatively called doomgaze with a measure of stoner rock, a knife-tip of sludge, and a healthy pinch of drone. Following the album title’s seasonal theme, listeners will encounter a new darker undertone in the band’s sound that often appears to be extremely heavy and hovering nearly weightless at the same time.
LOW FLYING HAWKS were founded by a pair of guitarists/multi-instrumentalists known by the aliases EHA and AAL. Throughout the band’s existence, this core duo has been supported by a renowned rhythm section in the form of THE MELVINS drummer Dale Crover and Trevor Dunn from MR. BUNGLE on bass.
Right from the start, the concept was to illuminate the myth of Sisyphos by constituting three major cornerstones, which are exemplified by Japanese expressions.
With debut album “K?fuku” (2016), LOW FLYING HAWKS set the first milestone with the Japanese term for “surrendering to what is happening”, meaning to try being happy with whatever has been given by the circumstances along the lines of “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade”. This was followed in 2017 by “Genkaku”, meaning “hallucinations”, on which the duo explored how a sense of understanding can grow out of spiraling confusion. In a shorter interlude, the 2019 EP “Anxious Ghosts” complemented the concept by talking about the anxieties involved in the whole process.
Now, LOW FLYING HAWKS have reached the third cornerstone. “Fuyu” relates the despair of nearly reaching the top once again and realising that the circle continues. It depicts the wheel of life and its ups and downs. Whenever happy and confident that the top has been reached, it all slides downhill again. This means that we have to try to find meaning and pleasure in the process instead of hoping and waiting for that happy ending that will never be reached as long as life continues. The band quotes French absurdist philosopher and literature Nobel price laureate Albert Camus, whose main essay is tellingly titled “Le Mythe de Sisyphe”: “There is no sun without shadow and it is essential to know the night.”
“Fuyu” witnesses LOW FLYING HAWKS concluding their album trilogy on a sometimes dark but always thoughtful note, which makes the most of their subtle and cinematic unique style between doom, drone, shoegaze, sludge, and stoner rock.
Tracklist
1. Kuro
2. Subatomic Sphere
3. Monster
4. Midnight
5. Fuyu
6. Darklands
7. Solar Wind
8. Caustic Wing
9. Winter Star
10. Nightrider
Line-up
EHA – vocals, guitars
AAL – guitars, backing vocals
Dale Crover – drums
Trevor Dunn – bass
Guest musicians
Violins: Martha Domínguez Henkel, Luis Sergio Hernández
Cellos: Luz del Carmen Pastor y Valentín Mirkov
Opera singer: Martha Domínguez Henkel
Recorded & mixed by Toshi Kasai
Mastered by John Golden
Artwork & Layout by Luke Insect
https://www.facebook.com/Lowflyinghawks-1626755734268513/
https://lowflyinghawks.bandcamp.com/releases
http://magneticeyerecords.merchnow.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MagneticEyeRecords
http://store.merhq.com/
