Merchandise have today released their killer record ‘A Corpse Wired For Sound’
Formed nearly a decade ago, galvanised by Tampa hardcore and inspired by its miscreant noise, A Corpse Wired For Sound signals a new chapter for Merchandise. Following 2014’s After The End — a full-band effort recorded in a closet — the band stripped back to its core of Carson Cox (vocals, electronics), Dave Vassalotti (guitar, electronics) and Pat Brady (bass).
The trio travelled to Rosà, Italy for their first ever sessions in a recording studio with a local, Maurizio Baggio. The nine-song nocturnal A Corpse Wired For Sound was recorded half in the studio and half at home, in Tampa as well as Cox’s newly adopted bases of New York and Berlin – the culmination of a long-distance collaboration between Cox and Vassalotti.
The album’s metallic title is inspired by a science fiction short story by JG Ballard, but equally sums up the band’s current state of mind. “We were ‘reborn’ as a rock band for After The End,” says Vassalotti, “and then we straight-up died again. It couldn’t last. The result is this distended corpse responding to you from both sides of the Atlantic, forever singing in spite of everything.” Cox continues further “It’s about the truth of growing up. You can’t take your friends or lovers with you. It’s about finding peace with that loneliness.”
Prior to today’s album release, three singles were shared by Merchandise: ‘Flower Of Sex,’ ‘End Of The Week’, and ‘Lonesome Sound.’ The infectious melancholy of ‘Lonesome Sound’ is brought to life in a music video by frontman Carson Cox, whose filmmaker credits also extend to the two previously released A Corpse Wired For Sound singles. Here he has crafted a static-charged video largely inspired by the ritual filmmaking of Kenneth Anger. As with many of the videos Cox makes, it takes its cues from the American underground film pioneer Maya Deren. Elaborating further he explains, “the video for ‘Lonesome Sound’ is meant to be a more mythical or classical representation of the lyrics. The Woman as Goddess and the Man as her vessel. It is not my intention to tell a story but to play with reality and fiction in search of a sort of ambiguity that more reflects my personal experience. There’s no happy ending here, but there is a light show.” Watch the video below.
