We’ve been creeped out by Savannah, Georgia’s Casket Girls before. The catchy, eerie “True Believers,” released last October, was macabre. Open piano chords held the swirling vocals in place, the whole thing coming together as a flashback to a past life. It was uncomfortably addictive, the type of track you turn back to in spite of yourself, a perfectly shot, smoulderingly-graceful horror movie.
On the band’s third LP, The Night Machines, premiering below a (out on June 3 via Graveface Records), the sinister element remains, but it takes time to work its way under your skin. “True Believers” has had a synth-strong makeover, replacing that straight-fingered piano with distorted keys and consuming those swirling vocals. Opener “24 Hours” seems at first glance to show as much light as dark and the wonderful “Virginia Beach” has a sweet, pretty melody to go along with that 70s music-box futurism. But listen closer and the darkness is still there in parts. Ryan Graveface—the album’s composer and, conveniently, the head of the label it’s released on—may have painted some brighter colors into the frame, but he did so in the knowledge that Phaedra and Elsa Greene would draw some darkness in with their lyrics and vocals. A lot of the consuming instrumentation comes from Best Coast multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno and the steady drums are from TW Walsh of Soft Drugs, Headphones and Pedro the Lion. There’s plenty of talent behind the tracks before you get to the main cast. But it’s the Greene Sisters and that uncanny charm that makes it worth sticking around. The band themselves see the whole thing as a sci-fi awakening and, dig into those synths, and it’ll all make sense. “Sonically, The Night Machines is a time travel portal,” they told Noisey. "We feel the future becoming the past and transform in real time. Topically, there are strong undercurrents acknowledging how fucked up the status quo is, but also a knowing feeling that there's something more …and we are on the verge. The Night Machines is a concept record about being future soldiers and pioneers of the revolution into a higher consciousness for the greater good of mankind and the universe.” Ambitious, sure, but engrossing while you’re with it.
On the band’s third LP, The Night Machines, premiering below a (out on June 3 via Graveface Records), the sinister element remains, but it takes time to work its way under your skin. “True Believers” has had a synth-strong makeover, replacing that straight-fingered piano with distorted keys and consuming those swirling vocals. Opener “24 Hours” seems at first glance to show as much light as dark and the wonderful “Virginia Beach” has a sweet, pretty melody to go along with that 70s music-box futurism. But listen closer and the darkness is still there in parts. Ryan Graveface—the album’s composer and, conveniently, the head of the label it’s released on—may have painted some brighter colors into the frame, but he did so in the knowledge that Phaedra and Elsa Greene would draw some darkness in with their lyrics and vocals. A lot of the consuming instrumentation comes from Best Coast multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno and the steady drums are from TW Walsh of Soft Drugs, Headphones and Pedro the Lion. There’s plenty of talent behind the tracks before you get to the main cast. But it’s the Greene Sisters and that uncanny charm that makes it worth sticking around. The band themselves see the whole thing as a sci-fi awakening and, dig into those synths, and it’ll all make sense. “Sonically, The Night Machines is a time travel portal,” they told Noisey. "We feel the future becoming the past and transform in real time. Topically, there are strong undercurrents acknowledging how fucked up the status quo is, but also a knowing feeling that there's something more …and we are on the verge. The Night Machines is a concept record about being future soldiers and pioneers of the revolution into a higher consciousness for the greater good of mankind and the universe.” Ambitious, sure, but engrossing while you’re with it.
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Casket Girls Tour Dates06.08 - Savannah, GA @ Dollhouse +06.09 - Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn +06.10 - Raleigh, NC @ Slim’s +06.11 - Washington DC @ Songbyrd +06.12 - New York City, NY @ Mercury Lounge + %06.13 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott + %06.14 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Boot & Saddle +06.15 - Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe +06.16 - Cincinnati, OH @ MOTR Pub ^06.17 - Chicago, IL @ Subterranean ^ $06.18 - St Paul, MN @ Turf Club ^06.21 - Seattle, WA @ Barboza *06.22 - Portland, OR @ White Eagle *06.24 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge *06.25 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place *06.26 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theater *06.27 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge06.29 - Austin, TX @ The Sidewinder +06.30 - Dallas, TX @ Three Links +07.01 - Norman, OK @ The Opolis ++ w/ Hospital Ships% w/ TW Walsh^ w/ Dott* w/ Night School$ w/ Maritime