Back in January we described how The Convenience‘s forthcoming album Like Cartoon Vampires might be as imaginative and ambitious as their 2021 funk pop debut Accelerator, but it is a very different animal. “Because,” we wrote, “following their artistic intuition, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Nick Corson and Duncan Troast have pivoted towards new genres, the album reaching out towards post-punk, noise rock and drone in its search for something different.” First single ‘I Got Exactly What I Wanted’ introduced the new style, one which matched their trademark curiosity and playfulness with a newfound wiry menace.
Now The Convenience are back with ‘Dub Vultures’, a second single which further draws the audience into the ambiguous, almost contradictory world of Like Cartoon Vampires. With infectious drums and buoyant guitar, the immediate sense of the track is one of bright confidence, though something else moves beneath the surface. A counter force of sharp angles and acerbic attitude with lends an undeniably dark undercurrent. Once noticed, this dimension of the sound acts to shape the other, transforming the almost carefree rhythm of the opening into a presiding sense of volatility. As though the momentum isn’t some dependable force but rather an unstable chain of motion. The lyrics further play into the vibe, drawing on the sinister threat of the song’s titular creature to present a series of opaque yet loaded images.
Somewhere over Cairo
(The metal bird bash)
Somewhere over Bolivia
(The metal bird bash)
Shot down over Arizona
(The metal bird bash)
Lost in the glittering zig zag zig
(The metal bird bash)
Watch the video by Nick Corson below:
Like Cartoon Vampires is out on the 18th April via Winspear and you can pre-order it now.
Photo by Daniela Leal, artwork and layout by Nick Corson