Defying both conventions and expectations by triumphantly kicking each to the curb, Los Angeles-based post-punk band Sextile fuse the raw political kick in the teeth of 70’s punk with the minimalist structures of 80’s synthwave.
Their latest offering, Crassy Mel, is no exception, with the high-tempo EBM ferocity of fin-de-siècle bands like The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, ad Propellerheads, powered by the DIY rawness of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; Sextile blows through this three-and-a-half minute track with a rant chant reminiscent of Delta 5’s classic “Mind Your Own Business.” “Crassy Mel” is bursting with relentless staccato beats, dissonant garage, spaced-out synths, and noise guitar over Melissa Scaduto’s signature vocal slap.
The video, a collaborative effort directed by Scaduto, filmed by Matthew Volz, Cameron Michel, Brady Keehn, and Juan Wauters; and edited by John Stavas, visually echoes the genre defiance of Crassy Mel: a flashy, psychedelic onslaught of imagery, lights, and a domme who means business. (Epileptics, be warned!)
Watch below:
Since forming in 2015, Sextile has undergone several incarnations during the A Thousand Hands and Albeit Living album eras, paring down to the core duo of Scaduto & Keehn by the time of 2018’s more Industrial/EBM leaning EP 3.
After mounting tensions led to the band’s hiatus, both Scaduto, and Keehn, took time to explore their own creativity with two new projects respectively – S Product, an industrial synth-punk partnership between Scaduto and Kyle Harmon (Arkitect), and Keehn with the multimedia cyberpunk project Panther Modern.
Following the tragic loss of founding member Eddie Wuebben, Sextile reunited with another former bandmate, Cameron Michel. The time was right to music together once again. This led to the recording of mind-tripping Modern Weekend / Contortion. Enlisting live drummer Lia Simone Braswell, Sextile are rising in popularity again, poised to conquer multiple continents during this new chapter of the band’s story.
“Crassy Mel” is out now. You can listen below to the original as well as two remixes from Airball and John Tejada.
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