Themed on sleep paralysis, Done and Dead is the newest offering by New York's Russian Baths, part of a split single out October 7th, 2022 through Good Eye Records.
The band explain in a statement: "Sometimes, people are awake, but can't move. 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."
Following the very good Deepfake full length from 2019, Russian Baths' new material feels utterly moody and difficult to pin down in simple terms, still, it's a profound and deeply engaging listen.
Russian Baths are composed of Jess Rees (guitar, vocals) and Luke Koz (guitar, vocals), joined live by Kyle Garvey (bass) and Steven Levine (drums). The band have shared stages with Black Midi, Drahla, Uniform, Horrors, We Are Scientists, and Bambara among others.
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