Listening to the Californian duo’s new single I didn’t immediately realize, if not for a vague familiarity with the name, that about 2 years ago we hosted a video for a buzzing new wavy Electro-Pop tune, for the truth quite different from the current new proposal.
Oakland-based Hannah Skelton (Vocals, Synthesizers) and Chris Niles (Bass, Synthesizers) have unveiled the captivating wobbly single “In a photo”, the first preview from next year’s third full-length album, “Shapes & Colors”, via the longstanding Manchester‘s independent imprint Melodic Records (I used to buy off-kilter IDM/Folksy stuff such as Minotaur Shock and Pedro from the label in the early ’00), citing the press “a dazzling collage of psych-fuelled synthscapes and contemporary Baroque-pop of anti-capitalist movements and escapism, precisely pieced around their own working lives in a blue-collar town.”
The band span, with heady melodic charm, the vibrant vibes of the equally angsty and playful, as well as chilly and warm dancing avant-punk-funk-pop sound of the late 70s/early 80s’ New York from cult groups such as ESG, Tom Tom Club, Liquid Liquid, driven by an infectious rubbery Delta 5-like wandering bassline, scratching and caustic guitars around candid and flirty female-chants.
A groovy sinuous bassline bounces on the fore over a restless throbbing backdrop of hypnotic drum beats and taut dub-flecked echoing percussion bashes, scraped by strident chopped guitar riffs, whilst whimsical atmospheric vocals rise and fall, pierced by edgy compulsive wiry strains, in filter-less mercurial emotions, with minimal backup echoes, to capture introspective lyrical broods about the disconnected moods of photographic obsessions.
Light and carefree vibes flow freely through a DIY video with a vibrant set design by Hannah Skelton to sync seamlessly with the surreal, quirky moods of the soundtrack. Eye-catching stop-motion choreography alternates with nostalgic outdoor action sequences and a foggy blue performance to draw the viewer into Abracadabra’s wild world of symbolic fantasy and artistic imagination.
Abracadabra‘s forthcoming 10-track third LP “Shapes & Colors” is slated for release, in ltd Vinyl & Digital formats, on January 20, 2023, via Melodic Records.
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