‘…Coming back after three years of relative silence with a song of the year contender is behaviour that is simply ingrained in the DNA of HMLTD…’
It has been three years since we last heard from London based experimental outfit HMLTD. Their sophomore record, ‘The Worm’, took the band away from the electronic art punk sound they were known for, and instead offered a densely orchestrated, avant-garde experience; utilising ideas from post-punk, jazz fusion, and symphonic prog rock, the band presented a tale of a great worm devouring England.
Aside from scattered live performances, it has been all quiet from the outfit. That silence has been resoundingly broken, however, with the arrival of their brand new single, ‘Blitzkrieg’. Whilst this track represents a return to electronic mayhem, this is far from retreading old ground; a searing guitar riff straight out of a Muse track gives way to a pulverising gabber beat that arrives like an uppercut directly to the diaphragm. Henry Spychalski’s lyricism roils with sexual tension, intersected with moments of drug-fuelled absurdism; it truly feels like the sonic embodiment of the sweat-soaked fervour of an unrestrained European nightclub.
The track builds towards a pulsing climax before falling away towards a serene, piano-led outro; the come down after the high. Spychalski shifts from desperate, scrappy yelps to hushed, enamoured melodies, as the whole affair becomes deeply dreamlike; it is simply not in the nature of HMLTD to offer a track that keeps things simple and straightforward, and the music world is all the more blessed for it.
Coming back after three years of relative silence with a song of the year contender is behaviour that is simply ingrained in the DNA of HMLTD. It is difficult to think of a currently active band that are more willing to reinvent themselves and challenge what they are capable of, and ‘Blitzkrieg’ should serve as a showcase to other artists of how to reconstruct the fibres of their being whilst remaining true to their foundations.
For Fans Of: Dead Animals, black midi, Neophyte, Violent Magic Orchestra, Void Of Vision
Featured photo credit belongs to Rose Mihman (@rosemihman).
Physical copies of the single are available to purchase here.
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