From the very first seconds of her latest single, ‘Rather In Harmony’, the Swiss artist Sauvageoness makes it clear that she sees post-punk as a tool rather than a set of boundaries. The song unfolds like a slow, hypnotic ritual, sustained by a constant tension that creates an immersive, almost trance-like atmosphere.
The drums hold a steady, almost ceremonial pulse while the bass repeats its line and the guitars build layers of abrasive, dissonant sound. Through it all, an ethereal yet intense voice floats as though from another realm. The result feels genuinely hypnotic: tribal groove, controlled noise, organic psychedelia and a spirituality that sets the song far apart from conventional art rock.
Drawing on the most experimental and artistic phase of Siouxsie and the Banshees and their album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse, with that same ritualistic repetition, psychedelic influence and sensual, enveloping sound, the track also hints at Warpaint‘s circular grooves and Slowdive‘s almost spiritual minimalism. Yet the song possesses a pulse and tension entirely of its own, giving it a distinct identity.
The lyrics function as an invocation rather than an argument. ‘Don’t you want rather to live in harmony?’ returns time and again, each repetition revealing something new. First comes nature and the perfect balance that exists when left alone, while we remain too heavy, leaving scars as we move. Then, without warning or separation, comes the political: ‘how can we be ok if it remains only a monoculture of white male with their objects’. The song never separates the two. Nature and politics are shaped by the same logic of control.
‘Rather In Harmony’ is the third single from Sauvageoness’s debut album A Maze Deep In, due out on 22 May, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley at The Atomic Garden in Oakland. The album will be presented at the Toxoplasmose Festival in St-Imier on 27 May. A chance to hear it live.
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