God bless Bandcamp Discovery. Finding gems like this new track from Murfreesboro artist Baby Breath is a treat that’s difficult to articulate.

“CELLS” is a fascinating mixture of driven, thick, dirty, electronic music paired with detached, disturbingly calm, vocals. The juxtaposition between the two elements is captivating and immediately evokes imagery of some dark future. It’s fitting that a song that feels so mechanical would be titled to pay homage to the basic building blocks of life, a nod to the ghost in the machine.

It’s been three years since a proper release from Baby Breath and we can only hope that this track is a peek at a larger release coming down the line.

In their short time, Z has established themselves as a rather limber and diverse stylistic undertaking. Their last album, BarbedWire.org, is a collection of relatively upbeat pop songs with a somewhat ominous and frantic tone that reveals itself throughout the course of the record.
MAGNUFEEK was an onslaught of four-on-the-floor beats and downright scary presentation; something Aphex Twin would be proud of. Prior tothat was a handful of singles either pulled from those releases or exploring other territory, like the somewhat post-punk, somewhat krautrock, somewhat dance-y “Pure Pleasure.” The throughline here is not to put any expectations on the band, as you’ve no idea what you’re going to get.

So, with that in mind, “Breeding Time, the latest single from their forthcoming Cold Lunch Recordings album Trauma Center is something entirely new. The video is as visually jarring as the track itself; complete with barked vocals, huge riff guitars and a general berating. It’s energetic, forceful and coming from a place of absolute catharsis. Compared against “Ain’t Nothing But a Thang” it’s hard to imagine the sounds coming from the same band.

That eclectic nature is exactly what makes tracking Z so rewarding. The previous album could have been a collection of J-Pop but that has zero bearing on what you’ll get next. Trauma Center comes out in July and is likely to follow suit, sonically, with the sneering style of “Breeding Time” and the previous release “Paper Rad” but there really is no way to make a confident prediction there and I, for one, am excited for it.

Anchor Thieves recently unveiled a new track entitled “Psychopomp” for a live Q Session Performance. WTF is a “Psychopomp” you may ask? The band is kind enough to oblige with a direct definition and some background on the track:

A psychopomp is a deity who’s responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife…. The lyrics play with indistinct phrases and double entendre to lighten the theme to match the more optimistic feel of the tune; and ultimately leave the meaning up to the listener. The juxtaposition of darker concepts and lighter tunes has been a running motif for us going back to our first LP Malefactors. It’s always a fun angle to try and romanticize maleficence and the supernatural. — Cayce Keller

Aside from being a bit of an education on a fun new word to use in casual conversation, it’s also the first new music we’ve got from the band since the release of their excellent EP, The Havoc Siren. Sonically, the track goes in yet a new direction for the band; continuing to push the boundaries of styles that the band is comfortable in. What started as an impressively enjoyable rock band has flourished into an outfit that doesn’t shy from a gentler take, albeit one about a deity escorting you to the other side.

The band has always churned out enjoyable dance-y, keyboard driven, electro-pop songs but “Expectations” amps things up by a considerable factor. The production is noticeably shinier in all respects; deeper bass, chirpier keyboards and plenty more entrancement in the guitars. The Scene (and the band themselves) made comparisons to the work of U2’s The Edge and Athens, GA Maserati as touchpoints of reference and influence, respectively, and they’re certainly apt. Where U2 may leave a bitter taste in your brain, rest assured that this is more Ladytron than “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

Megan Johnson Rox’s vocals have also received a significant tweak; particularly in her delivery style. While we’ve seen glimpses of this kind of emphatic performance in the past, it really shines through here. She’s leading the listener along, rather than lost her lamentations.

This is likely just a taste of plenty more to come from Scale Model. If they can keep up this pace for an entire album (or EP, I’d accept an EP), we’re in for a sweaty good time.

Hear the track on your favorite streaming service right here

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