PREMIERE: Watch Laser Background shapeshift in new visual for “Hymnals”
In a little over a month, Andy Molholt’s Laser Background will drop their latest LP, Dark Nuclear Bogs. Considering the sludgy, warped psych pop this project drops year after year, the title’s a natural fit, but it actually began its life as an exercise in finding anagrams of their name. Wherever it came from, though, it’s a excellent primer for what to expect on its first single “Hymnals.”
As they have in the past, Laser Background succeeds here by putting sweet and sour in a room together and forcing them to get along. Molholt’s boyish vocals and the sing-song melody go head-to-head with queasy, warbling guitar and drums, creating tension that steadily builds into a full-on panic attack. Lyrically, the track deals with feelings of inadequacy, as the repeated intonement of “No one has to know” grows in intentsity with the instrumental. This sense of anxiety is just as apparent in the song’s accompanying visual, which Molholt describes below:
“The “Hymnals” video was filmed at my house in Kensington with Michael Chadwick (Plum Professional, The Armchairs) using a variety of old malfunctioning cameras. We wanted to create a few distorted “characters” that we could toggle between, giving the illusion of a group of Andy Molholts in a “why do we even exist” type universe. Of particular note is the dead plant I play during the guitar solos.”
Dark Nuclear Bogs is out Friday, April 28th, but you can pre-order it now via Laser Background’s Bandcamp page. Find a full list of Laser Background’s upcoming tour dates, which include numerous Philadelphia stops, below. For tickets and more information, head over to XPN’s Concert Calendar.
03/17 – Austin, TX – GTZ Records Showcase @ 3:30 pm
03/18 – Austin, TX – Zen Fit Dojo @ 10:40 pm * +
03/28 – Philadelphia, PA – PhilaMOCA
04/08 – Philadelphia, PA – Pilam BBQ *
04/28 – Ridgewood, NY – Trans-Pecos ^ +
04/29 – Philadelphia, PA – Baird Mansion Atrium ^ %
04/30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox ^
05/01 – Cleveland, OH – Mahall’s ^
05/02 – Detroit, MI – El Club ^
05/03 – Toronto, ON – The Baby G ^
05/04 – Montreal, QC – Le Ritz PDB ^
05/05 – Winooski, VT – Waking Windows ^
05/06 – Bloomington, IL – Secret Farm show (msg for address) ^
05/07 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle ^
05/09 – Rock Island, IL – Rozz-Tox
05/10 – St. Louis, MO – Foam
05/11 – Hot Springs, AR – Maxine’s
05/12 – Fayetteville, AR – Backspace
05/13 – Dallas, TX – Armoury DE
05/14 – Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas
05/17 – New Orleans, LA – Siberia
05/18 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl %
05/19 – Knoxville, TN – Purple Polilla
05/20 – Raleigh, NC – King’s
05/21 – Richmond, VA – Gallery5
05/24 – Arcata, CA – Richard’s Goat Tavern
05/25 – Portland, OR – The Know #
% w/ Breathers
# w/ Jo Passed