Halifax “fuzz aficionados” Kestrels have released “Vanishing Point,” the second single from their upcoming album and a decades-removed descendant of Dinosaur Jr. Looking like something that came off of some late-night Much Music programming circa 1994, the track’s accompanying video has no shortage of colourful, blurred images and, best of all, cats.
The track is a sonic foray into the past; an immersion into the audible equivalent of an isolation chamber, a solid wall of noise dredged up from J Mascis’s basement, quite literally. That sound is no coincidence; the fuzz legend himself contributed a guitar solo to the album’s previous single, “Grey and Blue” after Kestrels played at a bike shop with Dinosaur Jr.
It seems the tip of the iceberg for the talent involved in the production of the band’s upcoming, and fourth, album Dream or Don’t Dream. It’s like Kestrels got to put together their own fantasy production team and lucked out on the draw, with mixing by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Alvvays, Kurt Vile, Cyndi Lauper) and mastering by engineer Greg Calbi (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Television, Blondie).
“I liked the idea of the record opening with the band kicking in with this intense and hypnotic riff as opposed to a synth overture or a bunch of sound effects,” says guitarist and vocalist Chad Peck. “This is a song where John Agnello took out some of the layered rhythm guitars to open the song up, and as a result, it really jumps out of the speakers. He also ran the vocals through a Leslie which is a cool effect.
“Lyrically, it’s about recognizing a relationship is ending and the unease that comes with the undeniable, inevitable feeling of collapse, and recognizing distortions in your thinking. It careens between ‘wanting to hide’ and ‘I don’t want to lie,’ reflecting the oscillating feelings involved in letting go.
“The title comes from the David Markson book of the same name, one of the best I’ve read in the past few years.”
Dream or Don’t Dream can be preordered HERE and will be released on July 10th via Darla Records.