December 10, 2021
Illawarra six-piece The Pinheads are back with their latest blistering track just in time for Summer, ‘Heart of Darkness’, which received a first play on triple j’s Home & Hosed, is out today via Farmer & The Owl / BMG
Recorded & mixed by band member Jez Player at The Pinshed & mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Courtney Barnett, Amyl & The Sniffers, Babe Rainbow, Bloc Party), the new single transports you to the bustling streets, neon lights and amplified energy of Austin, Texas during 2019’s SXSW showcase.
The band describe the track, “Guitarist Al’s soggy guitar lines led the initial idea – bright and melodic, yet warped and loose. The tempo and groove are deliberately slimy and soggy, pushing and pulling. Lyrically, it’s the story of someone getting deeper and deeper into a realm of insanity or something very strange, which is mirrored by the way the song gives you a feeling of a weird night out where you can feel a flowing force that pulls you along.”
The Pinheads have shared the brand-new clip to coincide with the release as they take you on a journey through the bad streets of Texas, video and animations by band members Luke Player with additional fx by James Kates. An ode to the underbelly of the city, loosely tracing the snippets and scenes of night and day in the big smoke, they drew from inspiration of their experience at SXSW where they felt immersed in an unreal kind of fantasy of freaks and creatures who sleep through the day and live through the night.
Watch ‘HEART OF DARKNESS’
“The title of the track comes from the book of the same name by Joseph Conrad, set in a foreign land with themes of madness and morality. I played with the idea of children’s cartoons based in cities (a la Sesame Street, etc.) flipped on its head; mixing the kind of child-like wonder we all experience when placed in a strange new land and the reality of the darkness and debauchery in the shadows. In this world the city is inhabited by animals and humans alike; drinking, gambling, and sinning alongside each other.
I liberated some images from relative artworks like the Grateful Dead marching bears, Robert Crumbs cartoons and traditional tattoo art as a dedication to the kind of counterculture that cities breed.It took countless hours in and out of lockdown, maybe around a month or two off and on, to complete this clip as I hand-drew every frame and painstakingly sourced appropriate stock footage to compliment the art as a backdrop.
Throughout the process a loose narrative formed; fragments of bedlam and lawlessness on a wild night, trailing through the noisy scenes of the day, capturing the chaotic energy of the hustle and bustle, eventually slipping back into night again. The story is a loop of the endless cycle within a big city, the inhabitants that lurk in the dark shadows and the allure of the bright lights.”
‘Heart of Darkness’ follows on from 2021 release ‘New Love Dawn’ and their highly praised Is This Real album featuring title track & ‘Feel It Now’. Known for their explosive live performances guarantee to tear the house down (literally), they have graced the stages with some of Australia’s best live acts including Amyl & The Sniffers, Skeggz and Hockey Dad and performed festival slots at Yours & Owls Festival and SXSW.
With the promise of more music to come as the band dive headfirst into genre exploration, get ready for some unforgettable indie-rock coming from The Pinheads camp in 2022.
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