Photo by Tommy Krause
Behold the Shnak! Straddling the fine line between frenetic brilliance and chaotic creativity, New York City’s art-rock ensemble Ecce Shnak thrives on energy, teetering on the edge of controlled mayhem. Led by David Roush—composer, bassist, and one of two singers—the band includes Bella Komodromos (vocals), Chris Krasnow (guitar), Gannon Ferrell (guitar), and Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums), each contributing their distinctive flair.
Ecce Shnak gleefully defies conventions, flitting across musical styles like bees sampling a spectrum of blossoms. Within a single tune, they blend disparate forms with audacious precision, tackling heavy themes and peculiar trivia with articulate finesse. Roush’s encyclopedic knowledge of the arcane and eccentric, coupled with his fascination for society’s tangled evolution, fuels the band’s intricate, genre-hopping creations.
The songs carry an electric pulse, moving deftly between playful irreverence and poignant commentary, as Roush shares stories laced with empathy and insight. Ecce Shnak’s approach feels alive with motion and intention, like a hive buzzing with purposeful chaos, each element vital to the whole: this band is fearless in their flight through the chaotic skies of art-rock, landing deftly on the intersections of intellect, humour, and heart.
“Each genre has its own manner of expression, mannerisms, history, motivations, virtues, flaws, limitations, and so on,” Roush explains. “At my best as a composer and lyricist, I listen to and respect each one, then whatever I take from their souls informs mine, inhabiting it, expanding, and merging.”
Prayer on Love flows with a thoughtful intensity, its guitars layered like intricate brushstrokes. The snare drums crack sharply, a crisp punctuation to the track’s rhythm. David Roush’s vocals, distinct and stirring, deliver raw emotion. Echoing the introspection of Beck, the lively edge of The Dandy Warhols, and the atmospheric brilliance of 70s-era Bowie, this gorgeous track is a crash course in Philosophy 101.
“Prayer on Love is our most whole-grain rock song to date,” says Roush. “It’s a meditation on the nature of love and its diverse manifestations. It honors the complexity of love without declaring that it ‘is all we need’. The last verse is a celebration of the unique love in each person, all of our flaws notwithstanding.”
Brooklyn-based cinematographer Milton Walker enhances the experience with a kaleidoscopic video, swirling with vivid imagery that mirrors the track’s layered complexity. Watch below:
Jeremy, Utilitarian Sadboy draws inspiration from the 19th-century English philosopher Jeremy Bentham, whose utilitarian ideals stand as a cornerstone of ethical thought. Bentham’s “greatest happiness principle” argued that the moral value of any action lay in its ability to maximize pleasure and minimize suffering for the greatest number—a philosophy rooted in reason and societal improvement.
A relentless advocate for liberty, equality, and reform, Bentham’s intellectual pursuits ranged from animal rights to prison reform and the decriminalization of homosexuality. His work sought to untangle the complexities of legal systems, striving for clarity and fairness while laying the foundations for legal positivism. Always the pragmatist, he attempted to quantify happiness through his “felicific calculus,” marrying ethics with an empirical approach.
The song encapsulates this intellectual fervor in 150 seconds of math-metal, post-rock, and choral crescendos. It shifts seamlessly between System of a Down’s chaotic precision, They Might Be Giants’ clever ingenuity, and Sparks’ theatrical exuberance. With a nod to Michael Gambon’s The Singing Detective, the track becomes a philosophical symphony, reflecting Bentham’s ceaseless drive to question, reform, and elevate the human condition through reason and progressive ideals.
Watch Jeremy, Utilitarian Sadboy below:
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