Stephen Nicholas White (The Orange Kyte, Magic Shoppe) as Revolution Above Disorder revisits a composition from the days of the psychedelic rockers, House of Dolls. Annihilator takes the form of a rich, electronic-bent post punk number, similar to White's recent output as an emerging and growing solo act.
"Annihilator was originally conceived of as an uptempo post-punk song a number of years back when writing the second House of Dolls record, which ultimately never saw the light of day," the artist explains. "Rediscovered in a treasure trove of demos back in 2020 as I was conceptualizing Revolution Above Disorder, Annihilator soon metamorphosed into a whole different beast. Working again with Jason Corbett (ACTORS) at Jacknife Sound, we slowed the track down to allow it to breathe and, in doing so, a whole new incarnation of the track began to crystallize."
Annihilator is dense and well-constructed, with an outstanding production, and it proves to be a wonderfully melancholic and all-around intriguing listen.
Stephen Nicholas White expands: "At the time I was heavily into rediscovering the sounds of first wave trip-hop and nineties UK big beat… and as ever, the ubiquitous spectre of krautrock loomed heavily at the forefront of my mind. These influences wormed their way into Annihilator as we focused on the building of subtle layers to create a rising tension over the course of the track. The song was built over top of a sci-fi synth bassline, underpinned at its core by acoustic guitar. ACTORS’ drummer Adam Fink responded to the call and nailed the drum track. Mat Durie was summoned in to add some bowed-guitar, lending the track the droned-out atmospherics that it was crying out for."
Annihilator, which was recorded amid the most frantic days of the Covid-19 crisis, tackles themes of despair, nihilism and self-destruction, and sees Revolution Above Disorder reaching a new high point.
Cover art and photograph by Stephen Nicholas White
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