Bells Rang
BELLS RANG RELEASE SELF-TITLED EP
San Francisco dark electro-pop outfit Bells Rang released their debut self-titled EP a short while ago.
Bells Rang
Made up of Christopher Drellow (vocals, guitars), Andrew Livingston (guitars, synths), and Damon Magana (bass, bass synths), the band’s sound merges a smorgasbord of styles, including California wave, psychedelia, quixotic dream-pop, and fuzzed-out alt-pop.
Prior to recording the EP, Bells Rang isolated themselves in cabins and rehearsal studios, buffing and polishing their unique sound to a burnished sheen. They then laid down tracks in Christopher’s home studio.
Bandleader Christopher Drellow shares, “We would use every tool at our disposal: drum machines, synthesizers, guitars, consumables and exhaustion. We tried to stick to this idea of California Wave. If a song didn’t feel like whatever that means, we’d drop it.”
Encompassing four-tracks, the EP commences with “Tone Poem,” opening on smooth gleaming textures atop a teeter-tottering rhythm. Hints of psychedelic savor merge with velvety dream-pop undulations to produce a contagious melody rippling with proximate washes of marvelously bewitching California wave colors, oozing on viscous ethereal layers, infusing the tune with haunting timbres akin to a reverie.
When the vocals enter, the harmonics take on beguiling minimalism rife with stark potency.
“Speed Queen” travels on shushing pulses seguing to rapidly oscillating beat riding a thrumming bassline. The throbbing beats imbue the tune with the feeling of a highway’s hash marks flashing by at immense speed, as the rider experiences a surreal separation of time and space, along with the supercharged thrill of careening along at extreme velocity. Delicate sonic allusions make the encounter tangible.
“March” features glowing, shimmering synths mounted on a measured rhythm. When the vocals enter, the harmonics take on beguiling minimalism rife with stark potency. Explaining “March,” Christopher reveals, “That’s an honest-to-god love song. I didn’t add a narrative to protect myself from it. It’s about holding onto that great feeling, those naive moments of love and lust before all the complications set in.”
“Knife” opens on glistening industrial streams of color, piercing and simultaneously fat, as tolling guitars blend with brooding, darkwave hues to produce a feeling gracious with metallic undertones and the luminous dust of rumors as if something gorgeously, nastily tight is being figured out.
Impressively wrought, Bells Rang is superb, chock-full of silky radiance, wavering symphonic colors, and deliciously dreamy vocals.
