Canadian industrial-synth act Odonis Odonis debut a pair of purple-tinged visuals for the darkwave-laden tracks “More,” and its b-side “Laced in Leather,” two tracks culled from their latest offering, Spectrums. With this album, Odonis Odonis showcase the extreme ends of their musical margins by embracing their love of ‘80s goth and darkwave with industrial-strength intensity.
The purple pop of “More” and “Laced In Leather” mark the duo’s greatest musical leap of independence, grace, and curiosity into the wild unknown. Departing from their industrial-tinged sensibilities in earlier releases, these new acid-synth offerings possess echoes of Black Celebration to Violator-era Depeche Mode, Tears For Fears, New Order, and Clan of Xymox. Here Odonis Odonis prove themselves to be strong and self-contained, with fresh tricks up their sleeves. As with most musicians during lockdown, Odonis Odonis amended their songwriting process, cherry-picking elements from the angry and occasionally antisocial sound of past releases, but applying an extroverted approach. With four albums under their belts, the Toronto-based duo of Dean Tzenos and Denholm Whale have always followed creative impulses wherever they might take them.
“Despite our massive changes there has alway been a cohesive thread between all of the band’s material, whether it be programmed drums or epic reverberated swells,” says Whale.
“This project is the start of the third chapter of the band’s evolution,” adds Tzenos. “I still feel like we have a lot more to explore musically and writing these songs lit the spark for a lot of new directions. The idea of doing something poppy is a stark contrast to our last record, but as long as the project remains fun and experimental it will keep growing. We’re more like the weird goth kids in the back of the club now.”
Formed in 2010, the Toronto music act debuted with the album Hollandaze in 2011. Their sound has evolved over the decade, originating with a more surf rock vibe, but later experimenting with ambience and a heavier industrial sound before 2016’s Post Plague, when they fully realized their transformation into darkwave. Odonis Odonis have shared stages with Daughters, Front 242, Boy Harsher, Killer Mike, Chelsea Wolfe, Deafheaven, and Oneohtrix Point Never.
“I would say the band that has existed since Post Plague now feels like a separate project,” says Jesse Locke. “We’ve learned a lot over the years, about what’s important both as a band and as someone who wants to make music part of their life. We’ve finally found where we fit inside all of the noise.”
The video for “More”, directed by Adam Seward, Juliana Carlevaris, and Shaun Bowering, is a collection of flashes of kaleidoscopic nightlife fuzzy memories using video projections and footage from clubs. For those cooped up inside, this dreamlike approach has the feeling of a Before Times fever dream.
Watch the video for “More” below:
“Laced in Leather,” directed by Adam Seward and Juliana Carlevaris, takes a similar approach, echoing the theme in dazzling purples, pinks, and blues:
You can order Odonis Odonis’ Spectrums here.
Following their appearance at Cold Waves Festival in Chicago, Odonis Odonis are hitting the road this October and November.
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