We Owe — the solo project of Brooklyn-based musician Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu, The Gunga Din, etc) — recently returned with the announcement of his sophomore LP, Major Inconvenience, due very soon on December 1 via Mothland. Following the recent release of the LP’s first few singles (“Time Suck” and “Illogical Thinking”), now, Pravdica shares with one last single from the record, a sprawling post-rock odyssey entitled “Slight Inconvenience.” The standout track features orchestral sampling by Phil Puleo (Swans, Cop Shoot Cop, Human Impact, etc.), while the track’s accompanying music video was directed by artist Jim Larson – as was the case for lead singles “Time Suck” and “Illogical Thinking.”
As Pravdica wrote on the track: “I did this track instrumental with backing vocals. Trying for a more melodic sound. I was gonna do lyrics, but I found this patient interview that I very much related to, and I dropped it over the music. It fit so well that I was like: ‘Yo, this works!’”
Major Inconvenience is aptly described by sole-member Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu, The Gunga Din, etc.) as “post-alternative.” Informed by industrial, experimental music and avant-garde pop, this sophomore release from the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is genre-bending, musically elusive and lyrically confounding; an inventive strand of electronic music bordering anti-pop, synthpunk and post-rock.
Over 11 tracks à géométrie variable, Pravdica devises musical mazes where synthesizers abound, the line between drum machine and acoustic percussion is blurred, and guitar riffing is usually the affair of bulkier four-string models commonly referred to as bass guitars. Whether endorsing the act of wasting time, providing ludicrous dream interpretations or musing about a couple from Pompeii having sex at the base of an erupting volcano, the Brooklynite manages to induce complex emotions ranging from a perplexed frown all the way to a collusive grin.
We Owe’s Major Inconvenience is self-produced, but also features timely contributions from longtime friends: Thor Harris (Swans, Xiu Xiu), Phil Puelo (Swans), and TRZTN. The full-length drops on December 1st, 2023 via Montréal boutique label Mothland, and should please fans of Nine Inch Nails, Throbbing Gristle, or Björk.
As Pravdica continued on the forthcoming full-length project:
“I don’t believe in inspiration as much as I believe in determination. My mind is full of crap, and any number of random thoughts lead to ideas. What remains is just the determination to see them through. So basically, it’s my entire life, and everything I’ve ever heard or seen or imagined, captured in one moment of determination.
When writing for We Owe, Ip; use the bass guitar a lot, usually many tracks at the same time. I mix drum samples and real percussion. I use synths up the wazoo, a smattering of guitar, and other instruments depending on the song.
As for collaborators, Thor [Harris] is my old pal. He and I have made a lot of music together, and traveled the world together in Swans and Xiu Xiu. TRZTN is my even older pal, with whom I’ve also made a lot of music, including with Services and Flux Information Sciences. We have also traveled the world together. My pal Phil [Puelo] is from the band Cop Shoot Cop, and we both played in Human Impact together, as well as with Swans.”
Stay tuned for the full-length Major Inconvenience LP, due December 1 via Mothland.
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