Cudbear are trapped in a post-romantic netherworld in their spooky new single and acoustic-performance video Phantoms — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Getting a head start on Halloween, the Toronto indie-rock trio offer a preview of their upcoming sophomore album Purple with this creepy nugget of melancholy, bittersweet grunge-pop. Atop a throbbing, ominous bassline, a chilly two-finger melody, ghostly reverb and ethereal background vocals, singer-guitarist Bennett Jones wanders like a lost soul in a landscape bereft of love:
“I’m on my way
The flashing lights
On my ride to the other side
I can’t handle the blood angel
I’ll say goodbye
Cause’ I can’t stand the other phantoms
When I arrive
There must be some place to hide
I can hear you crying
And I feel like I’m dying
You came to your senses
You left me defenceless
As we all fall to the ground
This is our final test
The sun is burning out inside my chest.”
“The song originated like many songs of ours on an acoustic guitar,” says Jones. “While picking through the notes of melancholic chord progression, an eerie melody emerged. This what would become the melody for the chorus of the song. Shortly after the haunting lyrics to the chorus were written.”
Cudbear — Jones, bassist Adam Polan and drummer Keagan Ross — unite elements of grunge, punk and alt-rock in their distinctive sound. Their music contrasts calmness with ferocity, using sudden changes in temper and melody to make for an exciting auditory experience. They are influenced by everyone from like Nirvana, Black Sabbath, The Beatles and Slipknot to newer bands like The Dirty Nil, Fidlar, Wavves, Idles and Tigercub.
Cudbear released their debut album First Bite in 2019. Since then, they’ve built up a following in their hometown, opened up for Single Mothers and IllScarlett, and played the Gussapolooza Music Festival and NXNE. Their latest EP Think includes the singles Piano Song and The Bats Are Taking Over Paris, which also featured a horror-themed video.
Listen to Phantoms and watch them play the song above, hear more from Cudbear below, and cozy up to them on Facebook and Instagram.
