Widely regarded as one of the global alternative landscape’s most innovative acts, Static Dress’ emergence onto the scene with debut single ‘clean.’ in 2019 was met with a rapture of excitement that only grew as their output increased. Surrounding an all-enveloping noirish alternate universe that ran through the narrative of their work, fans have closely followed the story at the heart of the Static Dress universe; traversing self-released comic books (and accompanying soundtracks), video games and their debut album Rouge Carpet Disaster - a watershed moment for contemporary emo music that has led to tours alongside the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Underoath, as well as priority slots at festivals such as Outbreak Fest, Reading and Leeds, Furnace Fest, Download and more. Four years on from their debut capturing imaginations, today Static Dress unveil its highly anticipated follow up album, “Injury Episode”, via Sumerian Records.
“Injury Episode” charts the silent growing pains of the period since Static Dress’ debut was released using a continuation of Rouge Carpet Disaster's lore as a surreal allegory for repressed trauma, loss, and what emerged as the reality behind a lifelong fantasy. Sonically as well as thematically, this is the most "human" Static Dress have sounded. The album is free from studio trickery and programming - hammering out complex emotions on record often in single takes to allow the intensity and exposed nerves of expression to truly shine through, as if the listener is in the room with them. The album acts as a comment on the commodification of art; how algorithms and a "constantly-scrolling" culture has veered mainstream audiences away from challenging art towards instant gratification. To combat this, Static Dress present a collection of tracks that are visceral in nature yet undeniably infectious in their own right, eschewing typical song structure to force the listener to decode them for maximum impact. The album also marks the first full length project that features musical contributions from each of the band’s members; Olli Appleyard (vocals), Vin Weight (Guitar), George Holding (Bass), and Sam Ogden (Drums). That collaborative effort is palpable in the recordings, with “Injury Episode” marking the most diverse collection of music that that band has ever created.
Tracks like ‘questioning’ place the band’s ability to write a world-beating hook on full display while retaining the venomous bite of their previous work, while ‘...hospice’ is the first real example of Static Dress writing music that feels truly stadium-sized; a song to sing at the sky alongside thousands of like-minded individuals. Previous tourmates and friends Underoath join the band on the playfully named ‘Nostalgia Kills’; an explosive cut of post-hardcore that acts as a true passing of the torch moment, finding the scene legends re-engaging with a sound akin to 2006’s seminal Define The Great Line record and trading barbed words with Appleyard at the song’s climax. The album’s centrepiece comes in the form of ‘dull blade disguise’; a mid-tempo waltz taking aim at the soulless theft of creativity around the band, punctuated by shards of distorted melody and an uncompromising composition that leads to a genuinely show-stopping crescendo. For a band who have come to be defined by their ambition, ‘dull blade disguise’ and “Injury Episode” as a whole characterise that propensity to continue to push things forward in the name of emotional catharsis while providing unconventional new anthems for a generation of people looking to escape an increasingly less hospitable world.
Today also sees the release of the self-directed visual for ‘dull blade disguise’; a video that takes elements of psychological and body horror to provide an allegory for the fame machine. Mirroring the foreboding atmospheres of their recently released The Magistrate’s Loop online game, ‘dull blade disguise’ ties up unanswered questions within Static Dress’ recent visual output depicting a “mother”; forced to continue to birth new otherworldly creatures for the amusement of the public. As this process continues long after what is natural, the results lead to dire consequences. The video is a stark comment on society’s need to build up and tear down innocent creatives at a rapidly increasing rate, making stars of them before turning them into pariahs before they can settle into the limelight.
With the release of “Injury Episode”, Static Dress deliver on their promise to continue to innovate within the form of contemporary emo. A definitive advancement not just sonically but lyrically, “Injury Episode” is characterised by unflinching and often brutal honesty that blurs the lines between Static Dress’ storytelling within an alternate universe and real life experience. In essence, “Injury Episode” is one of global alternative music's most mysterious and forward-thinking bands tearing down the veil and showing the world that in an era of homogenised studio sleight of hand, the most subversive thing you can do is present your truth in raw, unflinching and real fashion. There is, after all, nothing more imaginative and complex than undiluted human emotion.
Get the album:
https://sumerian.lnk.to/injuryepisode
"Injury Episode" Tracklisting:
1. lose the rain
2. questioning
3. Pharmacy Film
4. Adapter
5. Nostalgia Kills ft. Underoath
6. this farewell is a…
7. ...hospice
8. lip critic
9. Malebomb
10. dull blade disguise
11. Classic.Death.Pose
12. Adult Diamond
13. human props
14. not a lesson to be endured, but one to grow from
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