Official press release:
The Black Queen, the LA-based experimental outfit featuring Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato, Telefon Tel Aviv/NIN’s Josh Eustis and programmer Steven Alexander, release their debut album, Fever Daydream, on Jan. 29. Eustis said in an interview with Rolling Stone:
“Originally, we had envisioned this project being something much more gauzy and probably guitar-oriented. At some point it just took a left turn and become very electronic.”
In the same interview Puciato joked:
“It was rare to find someone else who I could talk about Death, Leprosy, with as well as a New Edition song.”
It was those seemingly disparate influences that brought the three musicians together, from Puciato’s teenage years of watching MTV’s 120 Minutes while simultaneously knowing all of Jodeci’s lyrics, Eustis’ affinity for Kraftwerk and New Edition, and Alexander’s childhood home, which championed as much metal as they did R&B.
Rolling Stone has premiered the video for “Maybe We Should”, which continues The Black Queen’s integration of striking, Corbijn-influenced visuals into their work. The clip, which is set in downtown Los Angeles, a location that has proved to be a major influence on the band’s music, was filmed by Jesse Draxler and The Black Queen.
Puciato explains of the thought and attention that goes into all of the band’s imagery including the two previously released videos: “The End Where We Start” (https://youtu.be/L7gqlB0FW8k) “Ice to Never”:
“The overall aesthetic to me is as important as the music. We care about every detail of everything involved, and treat every aspect as an opportunity for expression. To make everything intersect. In that way, this feels more like an art project than a band. With the record just happening to be a form. There’s a lot of freedom in that approach, as well as pride and care that develops from it. Caring and attention to detail reinforces itself.”
The Black Queen will further that intersection of music and graphics with their first live performance, Jan. 29 at Complex LA in Glendale, Calif. Tickets are on-sale now here.
Fever Daydream was written and recorded in what the band has described as a hollowed-out, roach infested warehouse that they also lived in during recording, with Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, M83, The Naked and Famous) executive producing.
Fever Daydream track listing:
1. “Now, When I’m This”
2. “Ice To Never”
3. “The End Where We Start”
4. “Secret Scream”
5. “Maybe We Should/Non-Consent”
6. “Distanced”
7. “Strange Quark”
8. “That Death Cannot Touch”
9. “Taman Shud”
10. “Apocalypse Morning”
