As the world continues to spin into a strange new orbit where the synthetic glow of technology is more of a guiding light than the celestial bodies above, the need for genuine non-commercialised art has never been more crucial. Documenting this is the new record from supergroup Cower, and we’re overjoyed to premiere it.
The second LP from the noise and post-punk trio – featuring members of The Ghost Of A Thousand, Petbrick, USA Nails, Yards and Big Lad – Celestial Devastation is the natural reaction to finding oneself suddenly in a world that’s post-natural. Whilst the transition may have been gradual and subtle, we are now inhabiting a world where technology and AI is the guiding light in our lives. Why manually create art when an AI programme can coldly craft material in an attempt to evoke the same reactions? Why research interests when an algorithm can force-feed you disposable content on demand? Why be humbly content when one can programmable tools can create disinformation that sways public opinion towards your own ideologies? The sun may shine and the moon may rise as it did for millennia prior, but make no mistake, we are being forced into the age of cold digitalisation that’s post-heart. This brilliant record is the human reaction of that, a decry towards the tech titans that are selling our future, created with incomputable art and incalculable emotion and pure finesse.
Whilst Cower’s debut BOYS was a more oil-greased industrialist post-punk effort, Celestial Devastation sees the trio harness the towering nature of gothic rock to articulate themselves. However, to even use arbitrary genre tags to describe this record would be a redundant exercise. Across the span of the record elements of noise, goth, post-punk and all manner of musical motifs intertwine in order to produce a distinctive sound that circumvents pre-established boundaries. One only has to be throttled by the mechanical arms within lead single ‘Summoner’, be dragged by the corrupted gothic thrall of ‘Buffeted By Solar Winds’ or lacerated by the noise-ridden saxophone melee within ‘False Flag’ in order to get an understanding of the mercurial nature of this record. The alchemising of these genres may be chaotic, but such is the intention. This a fluid and boundless record, one that highlights the human intent and nature at the crux of this creation.
“We give up a lot of decision making to the algorithm more and more, so these songs are an attempt to make sense of that”, states lyricist Tom Lacey on the record. “I think that kind of power speaks to certain type of men, they seem to want to try and harness it, make others see it’s value, so this record speaks a lot to tech bros and the weird cult of silicon valley. We’ve all recorded, toured and discussed music for years, but this is the first project where all those experiences and eclectic taste have come together in something close to a band. Apparently, we were all goths at heart, who knew.”
Celestial Devastation is officially released February 2nd via Human Worth, with the record being pressed on a limited run of eco vinyl. Only 250 are available, and 10% of all proceeds will be directly donated to Hackney Foodbank. Pre-order the record here, and listen to Celestial Devastation exclusively below.