The supergroup Less Art is a brand new band morphed together by five veterans of the music scene. Brothers Riley and Ed Breckenridge of the band Thrice, Ian Miller and John Howell of the band Kowloon Walled City and Mike Minnick of the band Curl Up and Die have all come together to form the alliance this past year and is now ready to debut their super sound.
Their debut album, Strangled Light will hit the public via Gilead Media on July 28th and has been amusedly described by the band as “post-hardcore by post-youths.”
The album Strangled Light consists of 9 songs that is described as “modern, muscular incarnation” and reminisce the vibes by bands before them like Fugazi, Unwound, and Drive Like Jehu. Less Art recently released a new track from the debut album titled, “Pessimism as Denial.” The song contains almost suicidal like lyrics about our species in general. Lyrics such as; “We’re surrounded by prophets / Who think spilling their guts / Is the same thing as giving blood / We’ve eaten all the animals / We’ve burned down every tree / We’ve done so many wrongs… / This system doesn’t work / The world is better without us.”
Strangled Light was recorded and mixed by Kowloon Walled City frontman Scott Evans at Sharkbite Studios and Antisleep Audio, and mastered by Brad Boatright of Full of Hell and Mutoid Man at Audiosieg. Meghan O’Neill-Pennie from Super Unison and ex-Punch lends her vocals to the album as well. The art used for the cover of Strangled Light was done by Jacob van Loon who’s other work included the cover art for The Wilderness’s album, Explosions in the Sky.
The alliance of the band came together through not only their love of music but their love baseball as well. Four-fifths of the band are the same guys behind the baseball-themed hardcore band Puig Destroyer. Screaming through their songs with titles like “No One Cares About Your Fantasy Team,” “No Hitter,” “Call to the Bullpen,” and “Underdog.” This collaboration led the four of them to start a “real” band.” They gathered up Riley’s brother Ed and that is how Less Art was born.
With Strangled Light as their debut, Less Art has brought with them decades of experiences and will surely bring not only their old fans from their previous bands but also gain new listeners.
Tracklist for Strangled Light is as follows;
1) Optimism as Survival
2) Diana the Huntress
3) Mood 7 Mind Destroyer: Guilt
4) Wandering Ghost
5) Pessimism as Denial
6) Shapeshifter
7) Crushed Out
8) What Is It In Man?
9) Strangled Light
Less Art is set to host a trio of shows that will help support the band’s upcoming debut album and showcase the newly morphed band. The shows will start with a couple of stops in the Bay and one in SoCal. The three dates are below and check back for more dates. Grab your tickets soon!
Aug 4 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
Aug 5 – Oakland, CA @ 1234 Go! Records
Aug 6 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
The track, “Pessimism as Denial” can be streamed below.
Pre-order Strangled Light here.
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