Kudos to The Tapeworm for pairing LA power couple Yann Novak and Robert Takahashi Crouch on this new split tape, Giving Water to the Dead. Novak and Crouch create some of the most engaging, emotionally-dense music around. They started with the same source material for this split but went on their own sonic treks. Each side is its own statement, but they work together as a cohesive, complementary whole, digging through similar maritime terrain with unique perspectives.
In the Steven Miller-directed video for Novak’s “Our Bodies Stirred These Waters Briefly Pt. 1,” fluid movement and underwater spectacle heighten the expansive nature of the sounds. Drones rise and fall bathed in soft distortion, accentuated by crystalline arrows. Novak pushes the wave forward, pressing through the imposing geometry cast by the reflective imagery of the video. Bass tones glow white-hot, drawing furtive glances from above the surface where light has already begun to fade.
Crouch’s “Like A Shipwreck We Die Going Into Ourselves” is more insular and reserved. Across ominous footage of ships sinking, glacial resonance melting into emotive cascades. This piece has a sense of control that weaves tension through the bones of every passage. Even with the interlaced anxiety, “Like A Shipwreck We Die Going Into Ourselves” breathes with a certain solace in accepting finite determination.
Giving Water to the Dead will be released on July 15 via The Tapeworm. Grab a copy HERE.
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