Scorpion Tea, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Let’s dive straight into the details of this amazing record, starting with what the band says about it on their Bandcamp page,
“After taking time to grieve the death of cultural icon and longtime collaborator Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle, etc), Edley ODowd (Psychic TV) journeyed internationally to reconnect with songwriter Christian Cruz, bass player Fern Puma, and lyricist Anthony Diaz to create a new experimental/death rock project. The result, Scorpion Tea, described by Edley as a “band of monsters playing broken instruments.”
What would the dark alternative front be without its most precious and rough diamond, without Deathrock? Αnd how much do we need it to remind us with its unique sonorous and poetic message that losses in life are not only part of the game but death may bring new stunning artworks to the things that concern us? In simple words, our friends, deathrock rules, forever! On October 27, GIVE/TAKE independent label from Minnesota, published the debut S/T album by Scorpion Tea from Brooklyn.
The band comprises Christian Cruz (guitars), Anthony Diaz (spoken elegance, ghost whispers, haunted keys), Edley ODowd (drums, percussion, backing vocals, samples, electronic manipulations), and Fern Puma (bass). We are talking about a very solid team with a clear direction in their intentions and a debut album with 10 exquisite deathrock tracks. The first bullet to jump out from the grave was “Scarlet Misquote” with an official video too, come on!
Τhings suddenly went deeper into the deathrock psyche and sound with another official video, this time for the track “They’re Thriving Without Us”…
…and then I thought that things would be somehow completed with the third official video, for the track “In a Vile Suit”…
…these three specimens were released before the album and you can also find some awesome remixes done by the important guests of Scorpion Tea, here, and here, and here too. OK, I initially thought I had learned my lesson by listening to these 3 tracks alone, but when I listened to the entire album, it was hard to put into words what I experienced. The album is a merciless deathrock masterpiece, with crazy songs that make it seem easy for the band to create with such an aesthetic level of performance and sound production. However, it’s not easy to release such a record, and the group’s abilities are truly remarkable. I won’t say more, I won’t try to convince you more about the value of this album because I know that 90% of you when you see the ‘deathrock’ indication get an urge to get in immediately and enjoy YOUR punk music from the grave. That’s it, here is the album, and turn up the volume!!!
Keep up with Scorpion Tea:
photo by @mediumarmand
Written by Loud Cities’ Mike
