Kicking off our Monday, we have the great fortune of introducing you to a band we’ve only just discovered for ourselves – it may be that it’s been a few years since their latest release ‘Somehow Misplaced’ EP or may be because they are based quite a ways away – in a town called Columbia in South Carolina. Often described as post-punk and sometimes as psychedelic post-rock, Candy Coffins has certainly made a big mark on their regional music scene, but those ripples are bound to turn into proper wide-reaching waves given that the band has just announced announced that they will be releasing a new album in October, called ‘Once Do It With Feeling’.
Today we have the pleasure of premiering the song ‘Every Day A Fresh Atrocity’, the lead track from this 10-track record, which demonstrates a more mature songwriting than previous albums. With a vocal timbre similar to Robert Smith but also recalling Ian McCulloch of Echo and The Bunnymen, this music draws you in willingly and brings you back for more. a compelling example of the band at their considerable best, walking a fine-tined line between darkness and the silver-lining element of new romanticism. Haunting with loads of energy, this song boasts some impressive guitar work and, of course, excellence in frontman Jame Lathren’s nervous, edgy vocal delivery.
Lathren explains, “The song ‘Every Day A Fresh Atrocity’ explores the dark corners where our work often resides, both sonically and lyrically. It conveys the feeling of the haunting suffocation of a broken relationship, compounded by a reality that seems to become more dystopian each day. The full album chronicles a relationship from the onset of the first crack to its complete crumbling dissolution. All the feelings and emotions of tumult are captured here, from both persons’ perspectives.”
Songwriter Jame Lathren formed Candy Coffins in 2018. A small-town boy with admiration for artists who were not on popular radio, Jame Lathren had a rich youthful experience as a cultural outcast. His resilience, sensitivity and hyper-awareness of his emotional state would ultimately permeate his own music, getting right to the heart of the emotions surrounding the human condition.
After disbanding his previous post-punk band Crown The Cake, he formed Candy Coffins with hometown guitar legend Tom Alewine (Bachelors of Art), followed by seasoned music scene veterans Alex Mabrey on bass and Justin Purdy on keys, and former Iron & Wine touring drummer Jonathan Bradley. Their dynamic and textured approach has contributed to the band’s trademark lush sound, channeling and bolstering Lathren’s emotive songwriting and delivery.
With tasteful nods to Joy Division, The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs, The Afghan Whigs and The Cult, as well as contemporaries like The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spiritualized, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Interpol, Candy Coffins’ sound is dark and emotionally restless, but with elements of hope and elation. Defiantly unique, their sound is a welcome respite from musical mediocrity.
As of August 23, ‘Every Day A Fresh Atrocity’ will be out everywhere digitally, including Spotify, Apple Music andBandcamp. The ‘Once Do It With Feeling’ LP, which will be released on October 21, can be ordered at https://candycoffins.bandcamp.com/album/once-do-it-with-feeling
TRACK LIST
01. Every Day A Fresh Atrocity
02. The Falling Man
03. Seaside Girls
04. Abject
05. Tangled Up In Teacups
06. French Exit
07. Another Kiss
08. A Victory Like This
09. Cold Crypts
10. Peel Off The Stars
CREDITS
Jame Lathren – vocals, guitars
Tom Alewine : guitars
Alex Mabrey – bass
Jonathan Bradley – drums, percussion
Justin Purdy – keys
Additional instrumentation by John Furr
Additional vocals by Margaret Rose Champagne
All songs by Jame Lathren (BMI) © 2022
Produced & Engineered by John Furr at Pow Pow Sound (Columbia, SC)
Mixed by David Barbe at Chase Park Transduction (Athens, GA)
Mastered by Dave Harris at Studio B Mastering (Charlotte, NC)
Single cover artwork by Jame Lathren
Album cover artwork by Phoenix Lathren and and Tom Alewine
‘Everyday a Fresh Atrocity’ video created by Jame Lathren
Artist photos by Lauren Ellis
LIVE SHOWS
September 3 – Art Bar, Columbia, SC
September 16 – Velo Fellow, Greenville, SC
October – album listening party (TBA)
October 29 – At The Addition, Columbia, SC
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