Calgary-based indie-rock outfit Summer Bruises are releasing their sophomore album, Out of Body, recorded at Arch Audio Studio with producer Lorrie Matheson.
The record asks the listener to face the archetype of the predator – internal, external, figurative, or literal. From cartoonish vampiric characters in “Sang Crême Glacée” to the volatile intensity of “With Me or At Me,” the album wrestles with abusive relationships, loneliness, self-reckoning, and the desire to heal. Lead single, “Death Disco,” pulses with unrelenting energy, balancing goth-inspired tension with a sharp post-punk edge.
Musically, Out of Body hears Summer Bruises leaning into darker textures and isolating atmospheres compared to their debut. “As the album’s music and lyrics are ‘colder’ than our debut, Light to Waste, we isolated ourselves from each other in different rooms during recording or finished our tracks individually,” explains guitarist Aaron Smelski. “This was intentional and encouraged by our producer, Lorrie Matheson. Overall, it has a colder feel – similar to a Joy Division album – than warm cohesiveness like our previous record.”
The cold, drum-machine-inspired percussion and discordant piano break open the artery of lead single, “Death Disco,” creating a danceable yet uneasy atmosphere. While much of the band’s debut Light to Waste LP came together with harmony and ease, “Death Disco” was the first time Summer Bruises encountered creative friction. “Don’t worry – we still love each other,” they clarify, “but it was the first time we really had to navigate through tension and find a healthy way forward.”
“We wanted to write a song that The Bat Cave, London circa 1980’s, would play,” share Elyse Szabo (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Aaron. “‘Death Disco is about the realization of what you’ve invited in – seeing your error in judgment, maybe realizing too late that you allowed yourself to be seduced. You’ve gone just past the point of no return, and the only way out is through.”
Though its working title stuck almost by accident, “Death Disco” is aptly named: a gothy dance track built on the tension between regret and release. “It makes me feel like I gotta dance through the regret,” says Elyse.
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