“It’s completely mental how different the world has become in the past few years. It’s altered our minds, our hearts, and the music we make,” says Blake Voss of Vandal Moon. The California-based duo (including drummer and synth player Jeremy Einsiedler) have always been steadfastly aware of the abominable world we live in and our daunting future, a consistent theme of the band’s lyrical content which was especially reflected in their latest LP, Queen of the Night.
The newest track “Sad Sad Girl”—out today, May 19th—carries on in the theme of a fucked up world. Mixed by Trey Frye of synth sweetheart band, Korine, the song is a darkly atmospheric and slow-paced, sensual sludge. “I combined samples I made of some of the old E-mu synthesizers that Depeche Mode used to use with some of the drum machine sounds of Charli XCX, and just tweaked them out,” explains Voss. “It’s just weird enough to feel like our digital present day.” With Frye’s light touch—who understands there are no rules to music—”Sad Sad Girl” is a step away from what one would expect from a synthpop (and sometimes goth) band, but only just so. It’s ornery but intriguing, it both seduces and repels.
“Sad Sad Girl”‘s album art is an original painting of a fishnetted girl, smoking a cigarette—perhaps contemplating life and the decisions she’s made. “It’s meant to convey the sadness of the places we sometimes go when we’re in relationships, and how fucked up that can feel,” says Voss. This, alongside the inherent sadness of the song’s lyrics and mood, create an accurate portrayal of all of us, at one time or another. Listen below:
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