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Death Rattle to release ‘Fortress’ EP
"I was blown away..."
- John Kennedy, XFM
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, 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.
Fortress continues where HE&l left us - on an intense and darkly mesmerising journey through icy and desolate soundscapes. 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.
A preview of the EP is available now via Death Rattle's YouTube channel.
Opening with “White Ropes” and a soft fragility similar to that heard on the duo's low-fi, apocalyptic cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", Helen Hamilton’s 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 AttackDepeche 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.
Having gained Amazing Radio's 'Record of The Week' in March with their free download of industrial-electro-pop track “The Blows”, the band will be promoting this and their new Fortress EP release 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.