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out April 25th on Daydream Records & Start-Track

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For over ten years now, Atlanta-based artist Thomas Howard has specialized in capturing nostalgia in all its biting and varied forms. Possession Pact represents a new outgrowth in his catalogue, thoroughly exploring the gloomy 90s slowcore sound pioneered by bands like Low, Bedhead and Codeine. The analog warbles and synthetic tones of previous releases have been replaced by skeletal, winding layers of guitar and minimalist drums, the space in-between commanded by Howard's clearest vocals to date, speaking in whispers and shouts.

His world is one that’s always in motion - whether dreaming or awake - and meditations on momentum like “Asleep On A Greyhound” serve as a mission statement for the album. Through its reflective lyrical contemplations and long-form centerpieces, Howard conceived this to be a “road trip” record. Songs like “Firestarter” utilize this approach to capture the shifting emotional timbres that resonate within us as we build from stasis to catharsis. Like every Orchid Mantis release, Possession Pact reframes extremely personal moments into an abstract emotional narrative. Every note is tinged with yearning - or the feeling that there’s an unanswered question always floating, with a resolution just out of reach. They dance within contradiction, from nihilist sentiment - "it's hollow underneath / no answers for anything" - to affirmation of meaning: "a cipher in there / an answer to despair / a container to hold / and let it all go."

Orchid Mantis first gained a following through a string of bedroom-pop albums released via Z Tapes in the mid-2010s. Over the course of his vast and varied discography, he’s never settled on one genre. Whether it's his ambient works or his more indie pop-indebted releases, he focuses consistently on the beauty of dreamlike states, half-forgotten memories, and the bittersweet warble of tape decay. Although the instrumental arrangements here linger on despondent notes, Possession Pact ultimately acts as an exorcism - tucking away the past while ruminating on rebirth.



new album out April 25th
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