Nick Sakes never met a chord he couldn’t make uglier and/or better. Starting out as the guitarist/vocalist of deeply impactful Decibel Hall of Fame inductees The Dazzling Killmen, Sakes refined and expanded his sound with bands like Colossamite and Sicbay. Now the Minnesotan is back with new trio Upright Forms.
Set for release, unsurprisingly, on Skin Graft Records, Blurred Wires is the band’s debut full-length that noise rock scholar Hank Shteamer describes as “10 compact songs that balance sturdy hooks and graceful dynamics with the potent tension, dissonance and overall oddity that mark much of [Sakes’] back catalog.”
If you don’t believe him simply check out the video for “My Lower Self.” Directed by Jeff Economy (who, by the way, directed this absolutely iconic 90s video), the song goes from contorted no wave rage to singalong punk rock catharsis and back again.
Sakes himself offered some words on the meaning behind the track:
“When I was writing this song, I felt like it was a good time to address some of the catastrophes that had befallen me in the past 20 years… a cardiac arrest, a ‘silent heart attack,’ diabetes, two heart surgeries, knee surgeries, impending cataracts. Faced with all this bodily drama some thoughts came to mind…
Hope is decay. Decay is beautiful. Hope is the best form of entertainment. Celebrate the long slow burn of all your cells growing brittle and unresponsive. Prepare for liftoff. The triumphant screaming release of emotion and the chaotic verses are just darkness and storms – the bottom dregs of anger and disappointment. Our bodies will fail us. Betrayal is around every corner.
This song is concerned with all the frustration and the fate and the impending supernova.”
Blurred Wires is out June 28th on vinyl and CD on Skin Graft Records. Watch the video for “My Lower Self” below.
