Brooklyn's Bugs in the Dark continue to make major leaps forward with each release. The band's new EP, "Hang It On The Wall", shows them moving almost completely away from slashing, dissonant guitars and tribal drum sounds of their earlier releases to take their new songs in a direction that is comparable to PJ Harvey and/or Sonic Youth.

The four track on "Hang It On The Wall" run just shy of 20 minutes and the overall sound is atmospheric and dark. The disc kicks off "Serpents and Wine" which is a brooding song, powered by Karen's "PJ Harvey-style" vocals and a pulsing guitar line, that builds to a dark crescendo before collapsing into a whispered vocals and a wave of guitar feedback. The disc closes with an Aman Ellis remix of this song where he brilliantly deconstructs the song to morph it into a dark wave dance club track.

Zach sings lead on the second song "Picture". This is a melancholy song, with an undercurrent of feedback and clean guitar leads, that is a perfect fit for Zach's goth/blues vocals and it is a treat to hear him harmonize with Karen on the chorus. The final new song, "Metal Bird", has a prominent angular guitar line, that is reminiscent of Bugs' past work, on top of some atmospheric feedback which provides the backdrop for Karen's angelic and haunting vocals.

Bugs in the Dark just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign which allowed them to finish the new EP, tour Europe and play the Halifax Pop Explosion in Canada and this disc should go a long way toward helping the band break out internationally. While the Kickstarter campaign is over, the promo video that the band made documents the evolution of their sound.


Bugs in the Dark have a CD release party show at Mercury Lounge on Nov. 6 (Bambara, Hilly Eye and Butchers and Bakers are also on the bill. Tickets are $8) and are playing a show at Cake Shop on Dec. 9 along with Gone Bad.

Links:
Bugs in the Dark