SOM – the dream pop/rock collective made up of current and former members of Constants, Junius, and Caspian – today unveils their mind-bending new visualizer for the track “Open Wounds,” remixed by U DYE, otherwise known as Marshall Gallagher of Teenage Wrist. Now playing at Treble, the track by way of the band’s Awake EP, released last week.
Comments Gallagher of the mix, “U DYE is my outlet for anything electronic, usually a graveyard for shitty, vaporwave beats. I like trying to do fun things with stems from my friends’ bands, and ‘Open Wounds’ lent itself so well to the style I’ve been trying to hone in on. It’s such a rad song and produced really well to begin with, I didn’t have to tweak much to make it a lo-fi dance track.”
Adds Treble, “Where the original version of the track, released in 2018, is a dense rock track with shades of The Deftones, U DYE’s remix is a hazier, melancholy but danceable synth-pop version of the song, replacing the massive guitar crunch with bubbly keyboard arpeggios and a more atmospheric chillwave vibe.”
View the band’s previously released video for opening track, “Awake // Sedate,” HERE, “Youth // Decay” HERE, “Awake // Sedate” (Holy Fawn remix) HERE, and their set as part of Metal Injection’s February edition of Slay At Home Fest HERE.
Combining two exclusive originals with remixes by collaborators Holy Fawn, Hisself (Johnny Dang of O’Brother), U Dye (Marshall Gallagher of Teenage Wrist), and Giuseppe Capolupo (The Devil Wears Prada), Awake is a triumph of self-described “heavy dream pop.” Its concise compositions balance the gritty riffs of Deftones with airy, Tame Impala-esque vocal lines, just as primed for rock radio success as they are for shoegaze-loving connoisseurs.
Awake is out now independently on limited-edition cassette and digitally via Nuclear Blast’s digital subsidiary, Blood Blast Distribution. Find ordering options at THIS LOCATION. CD and vinyl editions of Awake are available via Pelagic Records at THIS LOCATION.
SOM was founded by Duncan Rich, frontman and former Constants colleague Will Benoit, and Adai founder and now-Caspian drummer Justin Forrest. While touring in support of their debut full-length The Fall in 2019, the band added guitarists Mike Repasch-Nieves and Joel M. Reynolds, both formerly of Junius and Driftoff. “We’ve always been a musical family,” notes Rich.
The tracks on Awake are part of SOM’s ongoing mission to “leave this place better than we found it.” Despite being recorded in quarantine, the EP was mixed by Benoit at his own Radar Studio in Connecticut – New England’s first solar-powered recording facility. Repasch-Nieves and Reynolds, meanwhile, spent 2020 sustaining an urban farm in New York City, while Forrest distributed vegan food to Black Lives Matter activists in Denver through the Summer. Equally philanthropic is Rich, who now uses his production experience to host emotional fluency events for men. While many musicians lumbered in inactivity, SOM used the darkness of recent times to create and heal.
Awake’s bliss is an insight not only into the kind of harmony the quintet seeks to cultivate in all facets of life, but also the exciting second full-length that looms on the horizon.
“SOM… specialize in a gauzy, feedback-soaked sound… It’s not far flung from the output of high-volume shoegazers such as Deftones or Hum.” – Revolver
“…thick and hazy but with soaring vocal harmonies that add a lightness to the song.” – BrooklynVegan on “Awake // Sedate”
“The remix takes the core of the original and flips it on its head, swapping a subtle electronic backbeat, atmospheric synth effects and washed-out vocals for the hard-hitting drums and guitars and more present vocals in the original. In short, it makes the perfect companion piece.” – MetalSucks on “Awake // Sedate” (Holy Fawn Remix)
“SOM play the kind of somber, glimmering music that exudes a heavy fog of emotion and introspection around it.” – Kerrang!
“Awake [offers] something for every fan of the band while exploring new facets of SOM’s musical identity in the process.” – Rock And Roll Fables
“Filled with tons of ethereal and highly atmospheric elements, the band’s sound is quite mellow and yet expansive and highly exploratory, creating a very cinematic listening experience.” – Infernal Masquerade
SOM:
Will Benoit – vocals, guitars
Justin Forrest – bass
Mike Repasch-Nieves – guitars
Joel M. Reynolds – guitars
Duncan Rich – drums
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