Since forming in 2018, deathcrash have always been a band of contradictions: broodingly minimalist slowcore balanced against overpowering noise rock, the sweeping grandeur of post-rock reconfigured into structures more closely resembling pop songs. They hail from the same London scene as Black Country, New Road, who present an easy point of reference for their swelling art-rock compositions, though deathcrash’s music has always kept one foot in the graveyard; their new album Somersaults, like the two that preceded it, is shrouded by a gothic pall that occasionally lends to a stripped-back doom-metal aesthetic.
Needless to say, it’s interesting to hear what constitutes the band’s influences. Leading up to the new album’s release this week, they shared a playlist with us placing their sound somewhere between the indie twinkle of early Death Cab and the pop-slowcore simplicity of The xx, while noting how Okkervil River demonstrated to them how to layer their demos into a finalized song, or how past tourmates Have a Nice Life showed them how to dip their toes in the world of pop and something far darker all at once (they even go deeper into both of those core influences, citing The Killers’ synth-drenched debut and Silver Mt. Zion’s freeform orchestral drone epics). Beyond that, they share how certain records have been “ambiently influential” to them over the years, with the sounds bumping in the green room surely being an unconscious influence on Somersaults.
Check out the playlist and their words below, and pre-order Somersaults ahead of its release tomorrow via untitled (recs) here.
Pretend, “Some How”
The opening track of an album that we as a band have listened to endlessly, and often had on in the room before shows. Not necessarily directly influential on Somersaults, but ambiently influential on everything we’ve tried to do. Still waiting for the “Some How” x “IWR” by caroline supercut—it needs to be done.
Have a Nice Life, “Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000”
Touring with Have a Nice Life showed us that it was possible to mix our doomier, sludgier, heavier moments with the more indie-leaning sides of our songwriting—something that we’d never considered was possible and had always kept separate. The first half of this could have been written by MGMT in their Congratulations era, but then the second half comes in with all its overwhelming force. HaNL taught us not to be afraid of wanting the best of both worlds.
The Killers, “Everything Will Be Alright”
Hot Fuss was on a lot as we were making the record, an exemplar of indie rock at its finer, poppier end. This track is one of the slowest tracks from that record, and its title holds a sentiment (not likely how it was originally meant) that’s carried across Somersaults. This life is the best life.
Death Cab for Cutie, “Title and Registration”
Transatlanticism was one of our references as we went into the studio, and we’d spoken to Chris Walla about potentially producing this record. Driving, vocal-forward, and with a hopeful indie-twinkle to it, “Title and Registration” is a great indication of where the title track to our new record came from.
Laura Marling, “Ghosts”
I’m not sure people realize just how good Laura Marling’s first album is. Could have chosen any song from it.
The xx, “VCR”
The xx breathed new life into slowcore and took it global. This is the simplest and most well-known song from the album, and therefore the most impressive. That mindset was important to us when making Somersaults.
Broken Social Scene, “Lover’s Spit”
Fuck, we love this song. It’s so anthemic, but done with craft and tenderness. Broken Social Scene have been huge for us recently, and will always bleed into what we do.
Okkervil River, “Your Past Life as a Blast”
Loads of words and loads of voices. By the end, when he starts singing about his brother, it leaves me in bits every time. This track was recorded as a demo that they just kept building on top of. From a technical standpoint, this was something we wanted to do on Somersaults—tracks like “CMC” and “Somersaults” wouldn’t exist without this approach.
Taking Back Sunday, “…Slowdance on the Inside”
I think this song is the reason I make music. Every time I write a song it’s an attempt to make me feel how this song used to make me feel when I was 10 years old. Some songs get closer to that than others.
Silver Mt. Zion, “BlindBlindBlind”
I tried to write a song like this once. It was too slow and bare and had too many sections. But I liked two of the lines and held on to them for years. When my grandmother passed away, it was still in my head, and became the backbone of “Marie’s Last Dance.”
