OK listen up! Fans of Killing Joke, The Chameleons, Clan Of Xymox, Joy Division, Sisters Of Mercy, Drab Majesty, TR/ST, Psyche and those of a similar ilk might not be aware of Brooklyn based Lathe Of Heaven, but their sounds will be exciting and familiar sounding to you and they are heading to Brighton, so read on and learn more …..
Lathe Of Heaven formed in 2021 and the band features members of noteworthy Brooklyn based projects such as People’s Temple, Porvenir Oscuro, Pawns, Android, Hustler and more. Though this roster of past and alternate musical endeavours exposes a diverse range of genre and skill sets, Lathe Of Heaven can only be understood as a departure from such influences, exploring a sound entirely of its own.
With little more under their belt than a relentless string of live performances, and a twice pressed (subsequently sold out) three tune ‘Demo’ release, and debut long player ‘Bound By Naked Skies’, this New York City based outfit have proved themselves to be a potent and cohesive element amidst the torrent of hardcore punk and synth-driven pop revival currently proliferating throughout the U.S. underground.
Their eleven cut ‘Bound By Naked Skies’ blends elements of British New-Wave and Finnish Post-Punk into a nuanced juxtaposition of 80s sonic mania. Incorporating themes of classic and contemporary Science-Fiction, ‘Bound By Naked Skies’ indebts itself as much to its literary influences as it does to the music that informs its unique and deliberate sound. Paying powerful homage to the uncanny worlds of authors Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia Butler, Ken Liu and of course Ursula Le Guin (whose novel the band is named after), themes of cosmology (‘Ekpyrosis’), simulation (‘Heralds Of The Circuit-Born’), mental illness (‘Moon-Driven Sea’), and ontology (‘Entropy’, ‘The Spider’ etc.), weave implicitly throughout the arch of the record, providing a sense of insight into the minds of those plagued by the ambiguous nature of humankind’s terrifying and not-so-distant future.
As a celebration to the release of ‘Bound By Naked Skies’, Lathe Of Heaven are playing a 16-date European tour, which has already witnessed the band performing to punters in Warsaw, Berlin, and Prague. Tonight (10th February) they are in Bochum in Germany and tomorrow head on off to The Hague in the Netherlands. From there they will be hopping across the water and playing live in Bristol, Manchester, Glasgow, London and then here in Brighton, and then finally back on the continent for another half dozen dates.
The Brighton concert will be happening at The Hope & Ruin on Saturday 17th February and is being promoted by Love Thy Neighbour. Joining them on the bill will be new fuzzy south coast quartet Lipworms who offer up an infectious slice of dark krautrock, laden with pulsating synths, screeching guitars and abrasive dance hooks. Completing the lineup will be Brighton’s visually striking Mindframe, who are a dynamic three-piece who we last covered at last year’s Bad Bond festival.
Tickets for this not-to-be-missed concert are available now from HERE and HERE.
