Photo by Kate Hoos
Dark Ice Balloons, the latest LP by Brooklyn indie/punk trio, Nihiloceros, premieres today exclusively on Big Takeover Magazine and available everywhere tomorrow via Totally Real Records. The follow up to their 2021 EP, Self Destroy, which garnered the band attention from fans and critics for its bleak take on the human condition, Dark Ice Balloons explores the places between the worlds of living and the dead. Both lyrically and sonically its a touch more hopeful than its predecessor, leaning away from standard pop elements in lieu of rich guitar textures and an intentionally uglier palette of sound.
“Musically we all tried to push things a little further than have in the past,” the band says. “It’s always important to us to keep the sound heavy without losing pop sensibility. So we got a little weirder with some of the arrangements and melodies, and we thought it would be kind of fun to have zero guitar solos on this record.”
Some of record’s the most interesting tensions might just lie in cracks of its softer moments. But with no shortage of hard-hitting grunge, Nihiloceros often chooses to shallow bury its hooks just under the surface, creating unsuspecting earworms within a storm of controlled mania.
Much of Dark Ice Balloon attempts to just imagine what might lie beyond the expiration date we’ve each been given. It’s self-preservation by agnosticism at its finest.
If you are in Brooklyn NY this Saturday night May 4th, Nihiloceros will be playing at Purgatory to celebrate the release with Spite Fuxxx, Two Man Giant Squid, and Brook Pridemore. Get your tickets RIGHT HERE!
And be sure to visit Nihiloceros on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkTree.
PREVIEW DARK ICE BALLOONS HERE:
