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Death Rattle release ‘White Ropes’ (free download)
"I was blown away..."
- John Kennedy, XFM
London based girl/boy electro gloom-pop duo Death Rattle return with their second offering - four track EP Fortress released via Frontal Noize on 29th April.
Ahead of the EP's release, the pair are offering the track 'White Ropes' as a free download, available to stream and download now via their Soundcloud page.
With recent support from John Kennedy (XFM), Tom Robinson (BBC 6Music) and Amazing Radio plus video features on NME, Artrocker and Clash around their last EPHE&l, Fortress continues where HE&l left us - on an intense and darkly mesmerising journey through icy and desolate soundscapes.
A preview of the EP is available now via Death Rattle's YouTube channel.
Having gained Amazing Radio's 'Record of The Week' in March with their free download of industrial-electro-pop track 'The Blows' (a track not featured on the forthcoming EP), the band will be promoting this and their new EP Fortress with a European tour in May, adding a new guitarist and Moog player to their live line-up.
'The Blows' is available to download now via Death Rattle's Soundcloud page.
Where HE&l gave us the kind of immediate, dark electro pop and nod-along beats that drew instant comparisons to The Knife and Sleigh Bells, Fortress is its insular, brooding cousin subtly creating an even bleaker, impending-doom feel that their previous release always hinted towards with the band's influences - Depeche Mode, Fever Ray and NIN - becoming ever more apparent.
Opening with 'White Ropes' and a soft fragility similar to that heard on the duo's lo-fi, apocalyptic cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", Helen Hamilton' captivating vocal slides in enticingly over the music as the song escalates towards a wall of sound that hits at the first chorus. There's something about the intensity of Chris Hamilton's programmed beats, distinctive synth melodies and a-typical production style allied with Helen's metaphorical lyrics that transport the listener right to the core of the duo's inner conscious.
'In Time' follows with sort of restrained, menacing energy that Massive Attack became famous for with a strong vocal melody and eerie feel throughout leading beautifully on to third track 'Fortress'. Here Death Rattle feature strings for the first time with a haunting gypsy-violin melody dropping in on the breaks, seeing this track materialising into the darkest of the three. Akin to the vibe on Depeche Mode's Violator or Portishead's Dummy, in 'Fortress' lies a dark yet addictive electronic sound that tiptoes on the avant-garde of the genre.