Es share the caustic first single ‘Chemical‘ from their forthcoming debut album Less of Everything, set for release on 3rd April via Upset The Rhythm.
‘Chemical’ is monochrome, icy post-punk laced with abrasive guitars, menacing basslines and stabbing keyboards riven with howls of existential frustration at being completely overwhelmed. “The song was written during a period of emotional and physical fatigue when everything felt overwhelming,” explained vocalist Maria Cecilia Tedemalm. “The lyrics directly reflect the downfall of living within a capitalist societal structure which pushes people to their very limit, where striving for being constantly productive and overachieving can take over your life completely.”
Watch the video below, filmed by Lindsay Alexander Corstorphine and directed/edited by Tedemalm, was, “shot on a very cold day in my garden in Clapton much to my neighbours dismay. The idea was to make something simple but slightly chaotic to accommodate the message of the song – a sense of urgency and commotion within a simplistic framework.”
Es is Maria Cecilia Tedemalm (vocals), Katy Cotterell (bass), Tamsin M. Leach (drums) and Flora Watters (keyboards). Their 2016 debut EP, ‘Object Relations‘, was released on influential London punk label La Vida Es Un Mus. The band has since become a vital presence in London’s underground DIY music scene, as well as having toured the UK with the Thurston Moore Group in 2017.
After a period with members split between Glasgow and London, Es recorded Less of Everything with Lindsay Corstorphine (Sauna Youth, Primitive Parts) in Tottenham in 2019. As in ‘Object Relations‘, the dynamic between Cotterell’s bass and Watters’ keyboard is at the heart of Less of Everything’s sound: intertwining sub-zero melodies, gothic anarcho-punk influences (think KUKL, MALARIA, X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND) and some kind of entirely unlocatable aquatic component.
Pre-order the album here: http://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/product/es-less-of-everything-lp-pre-order
