Making a compelling case as London’s heaviest post-punk outfit, Shrines are gearing up for the release of their new EP ‘Ghost Notes’ this coming Friday, March 26th via Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings. It’s available in both digital and cassette form as well as a die hard bundle containing a T-shirt, A4 print of the artwork as well as the cassette. Go and grab it here.
The EP is a four track affair, a follow up to their 2015 self-titled debut album. After listening to the angsty, melancholy tracks, which are furnished with big riffs and this post-metal feel, drums propelling and guitars slashing, we decided to talk to the band, who took us track by track through the ep detailing their thoughts and memories.
Find a few minutes, take a read and have a listen to the EP ahead of its release.
Nexus – This came about during a time we were all interested in a more punk sound, listening to the likes of early Motorhead and more contemporary bands such as Savages. Opting for a simple approach to composition, riffing and structure allowed us to sit back and enjoy the song-writing process. Live this is a beast to play and often has serves as a great opener to the set, hence why we wanted to open with it on the EP.
Connexion – The influences are clear here. Producing tracks that are highly influenced is not something we are scared of. In fact, to engage with our own influences, which in this case is most obviously Killing Joke, opens up our creative minds to then springboard from this place and creates something new. Altogether this song forms the most epic track on the EP for me. It feels like a journey, one of darkness and light, and finally, onto redemption.
Relics – This song is a Shrines regular and has been for some time. We have recorded this song in various guises only to know that it was never quite right, until now. With a strong verse chorus interplay we invite people to get down with the groove whilst also striking them in the gut with the heaviest song on the EP. We chose to release this as the lead single from the EP as it has all elements of Shrines in there; heaviness, melancholy, anthemic choruses and of course, blast beats! We saw if fit to create our first music video for this song.
White Light – We needed a way to round off this newer sound we have engaged with for the EP. Compositionally, is it very stripped back and opens up the possibility for deeper things to come. It is anthemic in its nature and we hope will leave the listener with a sense of contemplation and reflection of what they have just heard.
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