Brooklyn band Russian Baths return three years after their acclaimed debut Deepfake with a split single releasing on October 7th, 2022 from Good Eye Records. Drawing from different aspects of underground alternative rock, the band lay out their own take on dark dreampop and shoegaze, this time sounding more lucid and straightforward compared to their earlier outings.
Done and Dead draws inspiration from the condition of sleep paralysis. "Sometimes, people are awake, but can't move," Russian Baths comment. "Sometimes, you can't do anything and if you try, it gets worse. In the seventh century, the Byzantine physician Paulus Aegineta suggested bleeding, drastic purgatives and friction of the extremities as cures for sleep paralysis. As of 2014, you could pay $295 for an exorcism over Skype. I wonder if that's gone up.
This song includes 14 instruments: guitar, piano, strings, mellotron, pull them out of a hat. It was done remotely and in a way, it encouraged us to be more ambitious in our arrangements. We rewrote the lyrics about 13 times. Shout out to Julia Stein and Akita Goto in London for the strings. They brought the second verse and last chorus into focus. They also played on Callum Donaldson's soundtrack for "Shepard", which is beautiful and terrifying. Drums are by Sterling Law of Lo Moon who has played with Kim Gordon and ... Olivia Rodrigo. The internet is weird."
Jess Rees (guitar, vocals) and Luke Koz (guitar, vocals) make up the core of Russian Baths, and they're joined live by Kyle Garvey (bass) and Steven Levine (drums). So far they have shared stages with Black Midi, Drahla, Uniform, Horrors, We Are Scientists, Bambara and others.
-
Russian Baths
Good Eye Records
-
