The Indie-psych radicals, Chess at Breakfast, resurface from their debut LP, 'Wealthcare,' to dispense more of their dopamine injected masterpieces to the masses. More than four months after their last release, the Colorado Psych-rock group follows up with "The Rip."
It's a bountiful dose of psychedelia from a trio whose unique sonic approach makes their adventuresome, scintillating sonic synchromesh all the more effective in stimulating you.
Inaugurating the journey with an empyreal lead-in from drummer Mike Davis on the keys, "The Rip" winds forward inside a mystifying aura before shapeshifting into a more classical dance with a grand piano, as Bassist Justin Dagget joins the parade. Caleb McFadden arrives with his provocative vocals, "C'est la vie, will she ever, rest in peace? Or will she see this love as nothing but a disease?" before drummer Mike Davis trounces over the snare drum, fingers loose but rhythm kept.
Here, Caleb renders-up stories of a past love, with a clandestine elegist-like approach, operating over distorted textures that blend into the scintillating electric guitar like butter, prepping listeners for a feast of oozing sonics.
The fuzzed-out edges of his electric guitar and Justin's bass amalgamate, and Mike anchors their synergistic union with a thundering remission through anthemic, trotting fills. Almost halfway through, the psych trio has grown in size and intensity, and Caleb turns his attention to his fingers for a guitar solo. He ushers the mix like a pyroclastic surge, consuming everything in its path.
After teasing a majority of "The Rip" with piano choreography and echoing fanfares, Chess at Breakfast slips into a sweltering series of developing uproars designed to promote psychedelic overload and alternative-rock feedback. "Her words are crusted over her teeth and lips, she even admits to it, now she's gonna raise hell," Caleb resounds, soaring over the adjoined creativity his erupting band divulges with ease.
The mob of sound grows more and more intensified before Mike crashes over his toms in synergized fashion with Caleb and Justin for the concluding riffs. Like a clandestine manifesto written in magic watercolor, the final sonic deluge leaves a layer of vapor, infusing the air with a sense of bewilderment.
What does "The Rip" represent for you as a band? Was this a song about a story you can all relate to in some way?
“The Rip” symbolizes the passing and tearing of time within a failing relationship. It is the acceptance — the “such as life” mentality — that evolves with judgments of ex-lovers. This song is an emblem for moving forward, continuing the love you have for those you’ve spent time with (no matter the cost of humility), and allowing yourself to rebuild your relationships as resources, indexes, coaches; to encourage only the best realities in current and future relationships.
What were some of the most powerful emotions you found yourself tuning into for the instrumental performances you've captured for "The Rip?"
As far as the first "half" of the song, there's a sense of foreboding, with the slow and lonely electric piano. Then the guitar and bass fade in to reinforce this emotion with more energy. The driving piano part during the rest of this half feels kind of menacing and sinister. When this half of the song ends, there's a gritty guitar riff that feels angry, and then is reinforced by the onset of the drums and bass, representing a drastic rip/separation in the mood. With the heavy vocals throughout this latter half, the prominent emotions are angst and despair. During the verses, the bass and drums are very disjointed, but somehow synchronistic, creating a feeling of confusion and dissonance. When we arrive at the solo, it feels like a mirror of the earlier angst but is quickly followed by resolution and a sense of convicted retrospection in the last chorus and outro.
How do you manage to generate such cohesive sonic energy in "The Rip" while it evolves from piano waltz to exploding rock anthem?
We think a huge part of being able to capture that cohesion really comes down to two major elements. The first is the fact that we have been playing together for over 4 years, and this song we have played many many times for live audiences before recording it; this repetition of the song has really given us space and time to make sure we mold it into exactly what we want it to be. Secondly, our drummer-producer Mike has really refined his production skills since our last release, and that has really been exhibited with the soundscape in this single; we are beyond excited to take this energy into our next record.
Where do you imagine your audience listening to "The Rip" for the first time for the best experience?
Definitely, full blast in their car ~OR~ fully immersing themselves in it with a pair of headphones.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020?
In a big way, our commitment to each other as bandmates has been the main thing keeping us going. We have so many musical ideas yet to express, and we're really focused on recording our second album so that we can get it to the fans that have been so supportive of us throughout our history as a band. At the end of the day, it's all about the music and playing it for the people that love it, so that's our main focus and inspiration to continue. We love what we do.