Indiana born post-punk artist Jackson VanHorn is indeed a talented fellow. The singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, has made a name for himself over the years as being the former guitarist of psychedelic post-punk act TV Ghost, and as well helming the impressive experimental solo venture Crossed Eyes.
Now, as the summer days start to wane, VanHorn has announced his second full-length album After the Rehearsal, set for release this autumn,
This new record follows VanHorn’s 2018 solo debut LP blood, and 2019’s hvn EP. The forthcoming LP was hinted at earlier this year with the May 1st release of the digital/video single “Saturnine” in collaboration with the sister French labels Manic Depression Records & Icy Cold Records.
Meanwhile, leading up to the release of fall release of After the Rehearsal, VanHorn has unveiled the visually artistic and surreal video for song “Pierrot ”.
The melody in Pierrot is bright yet sombre, with the modern songwriting of the post-punk revival, yet with all the timeless reverb guitar flourishes and drum machines that drive forward a beautifully melancholic aural narrative.
In the clip we see a repeating spiral of black and white images reverberate in existential sadness, where the melody is laid bare, stark in its lonely orchestration that invokes the clownlike protagonist of commedia dell’arte, who faces a dehumanized world where appearances are illusory at best.
Watch the video for “Pierrot” below:
Jackson VanHorn got his start as a founding member, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist for the band TV Ghost. The band formed in 2007 and released three LPs with Los Angeles based record label, In The Red Recordings, and a slew of releases across other various labels, all to much critical praise. With TV Ghost, VanHorn toured extensively throughout America and Europe, alongside bands such as Holograms, Preoccupations, Metz, Woods, and others.
VanHorn was also a frequent collaborator and backing musician for other artists, including Pink Reason, Zola Jesus, Dead Luke, and Circuit Des Yeux.
In 2014 VanHorn began his venture into the solo realm in 2014 with an EP under the moniker Crossed Eyes. Eventually shedding that guise, and embracing his given name, Jackson VanHorn released “Arcane” in 2016, and toured with Australian post-punk act Death Bells the following year.
In his music, Vanhorn draws inspiration from not only the world around him, but also from art, cinema, philosophy, and literature (particularly in the creations of Francis Bacon, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Georges Bataille – to name a few).
Musically, Jackson VanHorn channels an array of influences; from the illustrious work of Leonard Cohen, to the politically charged post-punk of The Sound, to the sonic landscapes of Ryuichi Sakamoto.
After the Rehearsal is out October 16th. Grab a copy through Manic Depression Records or Icy Cold Records.
