Architrave Single/Video Release 8/20/22
Pre-Save page with links: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/architrave/lorem-ipsum
It’s Rococo Friday, didn’t you get the memo? Upstate New York synth-pop duo Architrave debut the official video for “Lorem Ipsum,” the first release from their forthcoming third album. While the band’s previous two records mined dystopian, futuristic themes, Lorem Ipsum draws from eras and genres as far flung classical requiems, hip hop, and psych-rock. The lyrics weave an elaborate joke built upon website formatting gibberish and formal Latin. In the video, we find Jennifer Maher Coleman and Paul Coleman participating in a themed-dress day at their workplace and technical frustrations lead to ridiculous violence.
As the juxtaposition of website text with actual Latin from the Lacrimosa movement of the Mozart Requiem came together for the song, the idea for a clash of office culture and 18th century fanciness for the video became irresistible
-Jennifer Maher Coleman
Architrave’s sound is grounded in new-wave and from there pulls in the many and varied influences that Paul and Jennifer Coleman bring to their partnership. Their most recent album Future Ruins is described by “The Electroscape” as “Liberating electro pop, looming guitar, dark, psychedelic soundscapes with ethereal vocals strung across the space. Interesting songwriting from start to finish.” Vocalist and producer Jennifer Maher Coleman characterizes their music as “informed by present day anxieties and often inspired by science fiction.” A longtime house and techno dj, she cites Giorgio Morodor’s Donna Summer synthesizer masterpiece “I Feel Love” as one of her most significant early influences. Guitarist/Bassist Paul Coleman’s own catalog ranges from indie rock to experimental noise projects.
Architrave’s 2020 debut album This Perfect Day channeled a foreboding, synth-driven atmosphere and tense lyrics. The record showcased their formative influences, 80s bands such as Joy Division, The Fixx, Cocteau Twins, Gary Numan, and Depeche Mode. Although it was written and recorded just before the pandemic struck, the album’s dark tenor struck a chord upon its release by capturing the ensuing oppressive mood.
As Karl Magi from Spinditty notes, “This is an album that has a sharp, angular feel at times but is also capable of ghostly drifting and moments of warmth, but warmth tinged with melancholy.”
While “This Perfect Day” was broadly political in its themes, Future Ruins emerged in the wake of months of pandemic isolation reflecting on our collective confrontation with ourselves. The music is lush and wild, filled with dense soundscapes, infectious bass-lines, and complex beats. The first single, “Blissed Out,” is a rapturous expression of the present-day urgency to stop doom-scrolling and reconnect with others. Its ecstatic rhythms, anthemic synthesizers, and compelling vocals convey the human drive to find joy in the darkest times.
“Architrave is a group that at its core is defined by the space between polarized continuums. Man and woman, joy and sorrow, proto-gothic new-wave post-punk and techno/disco/dance.” W.A. Wright, Nippertown
“Jennifer’s haunting, reverb-infused vocals are lullaby-esque, not unlike those of Siouxsie Sioux, injecting a complementary goth sensibility into music that might otherwise verge more directly into new wave.” – Benj Gleeksman, No Echo
RiYL: Phantogram, Wire, New Order, S. Product, Future Islands, Elysium, Shadow of Fear, Month of Sundays, Boysdream, Drab Majesty, Actors, Little Dragon, The Cure
Upcoming Dates:
8/8/2022 – El Dorado Bar – Troy, NY with The Mall, Blood Blood Blood and Unknown Liberty
9/10/2022 – Main Drag Venue – Brooklyn, NY with Lacey Spacecake, Winkie, Cuneiform
9/30-10/2 – Bacchanalia Fest – Troy, NY Exact date/lineup forthcoming