PRIMITIVE BROADCAST SERVICE DROPS ‘WOLF MASK’, SECOND SINGLE FOLLOWING NEW LP ANNOUNCEMENT
The Milwaukee-based noise rock band set for release ‘Monsters’ on June 4. Following exclusive premiere via WMSE, the band is happy to share the second single off the upcoming LP.
“…free form Punk spreads angular and chunky riffs, pumping, slightly mathy beats and even some nice horns.” – Veil of Sound
Primitive Broadcast Service is a three-piece noise rock band
from Milwaukee, known for its skronk-driven sonic language. The current line-up features J.D. Morgan (guitar, vocals), Andy Steffenhagen (bass), and Bryan Dorn (drums).
The Primitive Broadcast Service’s third full-length album, Monsters, sees them pushing further into heavier and more dissonant territory, expanding on the foundations laid in their previous releases. Its crushing weight is no hollow gesture toward brutality, but a direct emotional counterpart to its lyrical themes. “The songs on Monsters have endured through distressing years, as tiny monsters grew large and then became all too real,” shares J.D. Morgan. “But this record seems to say that love still exists, in many forms.”
Insomnia. From the opening chug of the bass line and chiming guitar to the riff rock frenzy at its end, ‘Wolf Mask’ sends the listener into a sleepless dreamscape where howling angst becomes wild new monster running the rooftops of the mind. Along the way, the band traverses the heavy minimalism of Shellac to the dense psychedelic rock of the 13 Floor Elevators and Screaming Trees. This is about as close to “alternative rock” as Primitive Broadcast Service has ever been, and it sure is a fun ride for the listener.
This is noise rock that feels the world around it, made by human beings who do not fail to participate. Themes of sleepless anxiety (“Wolf Mask”) and alienation (“Invisible”) emerge within the urban skronk framework established on their previous record, Colors for Chameleons, before Monsters takes a more personal turn in “Pores,” moving through bitterness (“Dead Horse”), love and fear (“Shadows on the Hillside”), and emotional surrender (“Venus and Furs”).
The intensity of these themes is inseparable from the conditions in which the material was written. “”Invisible” was an idea I played quite a lot at home to flesh it out,” recalls J.D. Morgan. “One night, while I was playing around with it, I heard gunshots coming from the parking lot of the nightclub below my back windows. I checked the news the next day, and, sure enough, a 43-year-old man had been shot twice outside the club. He lived, and the lyrics to “Invisible” poured out over the next few days.
This is what The Primitive Broadcast Service mean by “urban skronk” – our songs are heavy, angular stories about things that happen in our city, which happens to be Milwaukee. We don’t force lyrics or song ideas – we feel out our environment and let those feelings drain into our music. It’s a very physical approach to writing songs. I think you can hear that throughout “Monsters”.”
Release: June 4.
Genres: post-hardcore, noise-rock
Format: Vinyl, Digital
FFO: Shellac, Unwound, IDLES.
Label: Seismic Wave Entertainment
Primitive Broadcast Service upcoming album Tracklist:
1. Wolf Mask
2. Invisible
3. Pores
4. Dead Horse (Apologies to Emma Lazarus)
5. Shadows on the Hillside
6. Venus In Furs
*None of the tracks contains explicit lyrics of any kind.
The Primitive Broadcast Service album was recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio, in the studio’s ambient drum room. “One of the best studios in the world for recording ambient drums is the Studio B ‘live room’ at Electrical Audio,” notes J.D. “The ceilings are two-and-a-half stories high!! There’s a stairwell where the engineers hang microphones, and lots of other cool nooks to place microphones in that I probably never even realized were there. The drum sound is massive, echoing all over the hall and up the stairwell. Bryan Dorn, our drummer, was in drum heaven!!”
To preserve the album’s low-end weight, the final mixes were brought to Thomas Doyle of TAD. “I don’t make ‘bright’ records,” says J.D. “I like the overall sound to be more nebulous, and Monsters was mixed by Vin Smith and I to emphasize bass and the full drum kit. I knew that TAD would not only respect this, but understand it. I love how bass-heavy Monsters turned out to be, and that’s Vin and me, and TAD, making sure it stayed that way.”
This emphasis on tension, environment, and lived experience is perhaps best captured in a note written during the making of the album:
“Dissonance is essential to American life: It is the broken, angry heart of free speech.”
Pre-order from now on here.
