Distances to Release Abstruse Jan. 19; “Two Thirty” Video Posted
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
It’s kind of funny while also horrifying to think that post-metal, as a style, has been around for about 20 years. The fifth full-length from Albuquerque trio Distances, called Abstruse, is set to arrive on Jan. 19, and across its 10-song/40-minute span, it recalls the formative period of the aesthetic, with a worth-mentioning-twice crush in its tone and a churn that recalls when outfits like Isis, Rosetta and Mouth of the Architect (among others) seemed to be and arguably were at the forefront of a generational wave. Whatever volume you can give Abstruse when the time comes, it will have earned it, but in pieces like the piano-led “Contralateral,” the synth-drone “Passage” and even in the break before the blasting starts in “Empty Prose,” there is of course an atmospheric mindset being employed in conjunction with all that churning intensity.
These guys have been going since at least 2011, so I’m definitely not early to the party, but as my first experience hearing them, Distances‘ concrete bludgeon mostly benefits from the short runtimes of the record’s component pieces, the band refusing to stay in one place for too long while still giving each statement the breadth warranted. On headphones, it is engrossing if you let it be, and well represented by the magnetic-field iconography of the cover. To be sure, there are mysterious, iron-born electric forces at work here. For a sampler, the animated lyric video for first single “Two Thirty” is streaming below.
From the PR wire:
Albuquerque post-metal trio, Distances, to release LP “Abstruse” 1/19/2024
Albuquerque trio, Distances, pushes forward with post-metal weight while still keeping one foot in atmospheric headiness on “Abstruse”, an album diving headlong into the hypocrisy, obscurity, and contradictions woven into the knots of life. Crushing sonics are accompanied by heavy themes for those willing to claw deeper, where melancholic and contemplative valleys sit between towering, crushing mountain passages.
Available on Digital, CD, and Vinyl 1/19/2024. Pre-orders available 11/17/2023.
Get ABSTRUSE: https://distances.bandcamp.com/
Written, produced, performed, engineered by Distances
Mastered by Augustine Ortiz, Jr.
Artwork and Video created by Peter Hague
Karl Deuble – vocals, guitar
Kris Schiffer – bass
Peter Hague – drums
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