Newaxeyes - Black Fax - LP

Opening song “False Flag” samples vocals from dozens of conspiracy theory videos, unrecognizable as they are seamlessly woven through soaring guitars and a glitchy drum machine. “Aleph Null” is an example of the way the band is adept at mixing textures, moods, and instruments to create something that nods at the band’s eclectic list of references while being simultaneously unique. Parts of “Dennis” could easily be used as a thumping beat-driven background to a hip-hop song while others are downright ambient, blending post-rock sensibilities and a strumming guitar line. “At Blood’s” serves as a slow meditation between the punching percussion that drives the rest of the album. With guest vocals from composer/vocalist Hanna Benn recorded in a cavernous gutted stairwell and distorted over a droning synthesizer, there’s a hint at the dynamic abilities the band is able to pull from.

Since forming in 2013, NEWAXEYES has pursued a diverse range of projects within and beyond a traditional band structure. Versatile performers with backgrounds in modern composition, sound design, film and visual art, their wide-angle vision has encompassed various multimedia projects, art collaborations, and large-scale works - including 2015’s The 8th Passenger, a 2-hour-long live rescoring of Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi horror classic ‘Alien’, performed to a sold-out theater.

NEWAXEYES guitarist William Hayes recently played on Jóhann Jóhannson’s score to Panos Cosmatos' (Beyond the Black Rainbow) Nicolas Cage-starring film Mandy (2018), the latest Myrkur album Mareridt (2017, Relapse Records), and toured as live keyboardist of Wolves in the Throne Room in 2016. Bret Gardín contributed electronic drums to post-punk pioneers Sort Sol’s Stor Langsom Stjerne (2017, Sony).