FACS (Chicago, Illinois), use minimalism and space to create abstract, modern art rock. New and sixth album "Wish Defense" will be released 07.02.25 (Trouble in Mind Records). “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini, recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing.
Hathors – from Switzerland Winterthur/Zürich – pass by with their latest album (11/2024) "When The Sun Is Out (When Skies are Grey)" (Noise Appeal Records). Their poppy noise rock blend a spectrum of rock influences, with nods to The Pixies, Madrugada, and The Wipers. Their sound is a reflection of life’s unpredictable ride.
Hathors Tour is presented by Artnoir, Visions, Ox-Fanzine & livegigs.de
This Hamburg double show is supported by ByteFM
FACS
The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves.
The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album “Negative Houses” was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time.
Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “…don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to “Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open.
A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.
- Bandcamp
- Spotify
- In a Present Tense (Live) - YouTube
- North America Endless (Official Video)
Hathors
Das Leben gleicht einer Achterbahn, und genau das spiegelt die Musik der Winterthurer Band wider. Marc Bouffé an Gitarre und Gesang, Sarah Zaugg am Bass und Dominique Destraz am Schlagzeug vereinen eine Vielzahl an Genres innerhalb der Rockmusik und lassen sich am ehesten in die Nähe von The Pixies, Madrugada und The Wipers einordnen. Die Kunst nimmt eine zentrale Rolle ein, was sich in den Artworks, Fotografien und Videos der Band immer wieder offenbart. Der Noise-Rock von Hathors, angereichert mit einem Hauch von Pop, wechselt von leisen zu lauten Tönen und löst dabei ein Spektrum von Emotionen aus – von Heiterkeit bis Traurigkeit. Dies spiegelt die turbulenten Zeiten mit verschiedenen Besetzungswechseln wider, die die Band in den letzten Jahren durchgemacht hat. Diese Alt-Rock-Achterbahn mit ihrem intensiven Noise-Appeal trägt den treffenden Titel „When the sun is out / when skies are grey“. Hathors haben in England, Deutschland, den Niederlanden, Frankreich, Luxemburg, den USA, Serbien und der Schweiz getourt und sind seit 2011 konstant aktiv mit vier veröffentlichten Alben, internationalen Radio-Airplays und TV-Auftritten. Mit ihrem fünften Album setzt das Schweizer Power-Trio seine Reise fort und kommt damit drei Jahre nach seinem legendären Auftritt zurück ins Mokka!
* Ermäßigter Eintritt an der Abendkasse für Schüler*innen, Student*innen, Sozialhilfeempfänger*innen.
* Reduced admission at the box office for students and welfare recipients.
