Australian drone metal duo Divide and Dissolve announced their upcoming album Gas Lit, due January 21, 2021 via Geoff Barrow’s Invada Imprint label. Unknown Mortal Orchestra frontman Ruban Neilson is credited with the production.
Members Takiaya Reed and Sylvie Nehill have found their own sound through playing massive guitar walls and slow drums over classically-inspired saxophone and strings loops. All their songs are instrumental, largely built up through live effects.
They have shared two songs from Gas Lit so far, “We Are Really Worried About You” and “Denial,” both of which came with music videos. Sonically, both songs are fairly similar even though “We Are Really Worried About You” is a few minutes shorter.
“We Are Really Worried About You” juxtapositions people standing still and people dancing, also comparing the settings of a suburban city and the great outdoors. The duo describe it as “a call to transformation and freedom” and explain it as an attempt to undermine white supremacy/colonialism.
“Denial” is entirely focused on nature, with no people visible. The video transitions from slow shots of flowers changing colors to views of a massive rushing river. Divide and Dissolve state, “The act of denial is one of the most powerful mechanisms of the colonial project. Black, Indigenous, and people of color are continuously being presented with elements of denial that contribute to the ongoing genocide and disposession of our people, land, water, and spirit”.
Divide and Dissolve similarly use their Instagram and the merch on their website to fight against white supremacy. The merch largely goes for a simple white text on plain black design, aiming just to get the message across.
Leave a Comment