Strong guitar riffs and a bass line fit for a secret agent movie are the first things that you notice about “La Jalousie” by The Callas, but there’s more sonically to the track than what immediately meets the ear. The multi-talented quartet—which hails from Athens, Greece—have been honing their unique post-punk sound for over a decade and, with “La Jalousie,” The Callas have expertly crafted layers of noise, echoing harmonies, and ominous tones into one four-minute package. The driving track, which is off of their upcoming full-length Half Kiss Half Pain, lingers with the listener and that sonic captivation is due in part to Jim Sclavunos‘ (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Grinderman) guiding hand.
Sclavunos has been working with The Callas for years and was more than thrilled to sit in the producer’s seat again for their new LP:
Working with The Callas is always an intense but pleasurable process for me. Bandleaders Aris & Lakis Ionas are a very organic team; but by the same token, they are totally receptive to creative input and collaboration, and always up for a challenge. As multi-media artists and filmmakers, they approach music making from a very different perspective than the average musician and come up with some quite unexpected results. They are completely open-minded and enthusiastic about how their music can be shaped in the studio and like myself endorse the notion that there are no strict rules that can’t be bent.
Since our last collaboration together on 2013’s Am I Vertical? The Callas have added two very worthy players to their regular line-up: guitarist Chrisanthy Tsoukala and drummer Marilena Petridou. With a fuller set of musicians on hand in the recording studio to perform the songs, we were able to approach the material from more of a “live” band starting point than we did on the previous album. Recording basic tracks with a live band provided a solid framework for the production, but still left plenty of room for experimentation.
The sonic palette of the new album is diverse and exploratory, with songs that range in style from dreamy subversive pop to brutal post-punk skronk to deconstructed rebetiko. The Callas’ Half Kiss Half Pain is their most accomplished and densely layered work to date.
Get a taste of the collaboration in “La Jalousie” below.
Half Kiss Half Pain is out January 29 via Inner Ear/Rough Trade.
