Ghostly International is pleased to announce the release of Work (work, work), the new LP from HTRK out September 06, 2011 in North America. After the slow burning ‘pop’ effort Marry Me Tonight from 2009, HTRK are back with Work (work, work), a similarly flat-lined study of desire and submission, this time complicated with elements of sentimentality and dysphoria. The gritty electronic sound design and simple beauty of these 10 new songs belie the sheer psychic weight to be found on this record; HTRK finished production whilst grieving the sudden loss of founding member and bassist Sean Stewart to suicide in March ‘10. Written from 2006-10 in Berlin and London, Work (work, work) has been carefully designed to offer a subtle transformative experience to those of us who seek beauty in melancholy. On Work (work, work), HTRK craft a stark soundscape: achingly slow 808 beats, eerie synth arpeggios, vaporous guitar noise, and Jonnine Standish’s androgynous, detached vocals, dripping with reverb. And yet it’s the careful way the pair combine those elements—organizing and juxtaposing them with a minimalist’s attention to detail—that makes their music so emotionally devastating. For all of Work (work, work)’s more abrasive elements, its sense of bleakness and mourning, one finds a surprisingly romantic core. A sense of doomed melancholy, a heavy heart, lives below the layers of a murky and heavy space. HTRK’s remaining members, Jonnine Standish and guitarist Nigel Yang, sweeten their heavier sonic reference points (Pan Sonic, Suicide, et al) into songs of love and lust, creating an imaginary party record for the end of time. NOTE: Mistletoe will release the album in Australia while Blast First Petite will release the album elsewhere the same week. Work (work, work) track list: 01. Ice Eyes Eis 02. Slo Glo 03. Eat Yr Heart 04. Bendin’ 05. Skinny 06. Syntheik 07. Poison 08. Work That Body 09. Love Triangle 10. Body Double
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