Each in their own way, both Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle are absolute forces in underground, heavy and relevant for the times music. The first are first off a couple of fantastic covers albums and a very productive 2019, while ERR recently released a standalone single and a demo from the sessions of her latest album, On Dark Horses.
The two sides join forces for an entire full length, and first example, the wild and lyrical Ancestral Recall brings forth a lot of excitement, and a first taste of the album's identity.
May Our Chambers Be Full will be out on October 30th, 2020 as part of Sacred Bones’ Alliance Series of collaborative releases which previously included celebrated works from Uniform & The Body, and Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky.
“It’s an easy marriage of our styles that was truly enhanced by everyone’s input during the arrangement process." Thou guitarist, Andy Gibbs, remarks. “When I first wrote the main two riffs (the first one being an homage to A Perfect Circle’s ‘Sleeping Beauty’), I didn’t know if it would fit with the vibe we were pursuing because it didn’t sound “Thou-y” enough nor did it sound like something Emma would normally put on a record. Ultimately, I realised how important that trait is; this record is all about exploring territory we wouldn’t usually explore with our own records.”
Emma adds: “Andy originally wrote the riffs and I believe I referred to it as the ‘Guitar Hero’ jam -- it was hard for me to keep up and I felt like I was doing an obstacle course (in the best way). Because of the differences in our guitar tunings, it was difficult for me to match the rest exactly and I ended up coming with a single note passage to play over the most difficult section. For me this was a good example of the collaboration and that I was able to express my style despite my limitations in a way that added to Andy’s riff. Working with him on guitars was a challenge, but most rewarding, and I feel proud of our child.”
Artist photo and album art by Craig Mulcahy
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