Tim Kinsella (of Cap’n Jazz, Owls, Joan of Arc, etc) and Jenny Pulse have announced their Kill Rock Stars debut LP, Giddy Skelter, due September 8 via the label (pre-order). The album is an allusion to both “Gimme Shelter” and “Helter Skelter,” as Tim explains, “In my mind, it’s this period at the end of the dream, the end of the ’60s, the idea of this utopia. Now, with lingering pandemic and its consequences, rising authoritarianism, looming climate catastrophe, these unsustainable levels of anxiety and chaos, the eras feel similarly apocalyptic.” Check out the artwork and tracklist for Giddy Skelter below.
The duo released lead single “Sun Inspector” back in April, and they’ve now shared psychedelic post-rock track “Unblock Obstacles,” accented with flutters of flute by Rob Frye. Tim continues:
For the first year of its existence the song had a soulful synth feel, like one of the breezier songs from that Personal Space: Electronic Soul 1974-1984 compilation. We’ve both been fans of that album for many years.
We slowly whittled away at the song’s layers, simplifying it more & more, until eventually arriving at this primal approach. It felt right, but we were intimidated by such simplicity; it actually does require some true nerve to strip away all the flashy & clever components.
But we made peace with our impulse when we realized that our most impactful move for the song’s big dynamic change could be to make the simple song even simpler. We aimed to create a sense of expansion by digging deeper into the established foundation.
“Unblock Obstacles” comes with a hallucinatory music video directed by fellow Chicago musician Sam Wagster. Check it out below.
Giddy Skelter Tracklist
1. Unblock Obstacles
2. Over & Over
3. Wild Silence (Thumb Inspector)
4. Nena
5. Bootgirl
6. If I’d Known
7. Blindfold 2
8. Every House Has A Door 3
9. Whinny
10. Every House Has A Door 4
11. Sun Inspector