Welcome to the second installment of our Flagpole Premieres! feature, where we debut exclusive new material from local artists.
Today, we’ve got a real one-two punch for ya. It comes courtesy new local duo I Come to Shanghai, who recently relocated to Athens from Oakland, CA. The group’s new album, which comes out on vinyl today via Texachusetts, is called Eternal Life Vol. 1 & 2, and it’s a sprawling, electro-soaked moodfest that is at once cloaked in texture and refreshingly direct.
“Empty Eyes” and “Another Holiday” are meant for back-to-back listening. Bandmembers Sam Frigard and Robert Ashley explain:
“Empty Eyes”
Sam says:
“This track, about a guy desperately trying to avoid his past, is probably as close as we get to sounding like a straight-ahead rock band. The ‘farfisa’ is actually a modular synth patch that uses a wave folder to achieve an organ-esque tone. The other symphonic elements are also made entirely with synths. We try to write quickly for this Eternal Life series, hoping for happy accidents, and this one fell into place almost instantly.”
“Another Holiday”
Robert says:
“Though they sound like two different songs, ‘Empty Eyes’ and ‘Another Holiday’ were written together. In general, each side of Eternal Life is written and recorded as a single chunk of music. And so we get another angle on the character from ‘Empty Eyes,’ kind of a general paean to the benefits of wasted time. Sam interrupts with a more concrete scene (and a near-total change of instrumentation). I interrupt him back, and we bliss out for a bit. I loved playing the bass on this song.”
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