Synth-pop, post-punk duo Architrave is the latest project from Upstate New York creative partners Jennifer Maher Coleman and Paul Coleman. The band’s sound is grounded in new-wave and veers into modern indie-dance rock, melding genres and emerging with a sophomore album characterized as “Liberating electro pop, looming guitar, dark, psychedelic soundscapes with ethereal vocals strung across the space. Interesting songwriting from start to finish” by The Electroscape. Vocalist and producer Jennifer Maher Coleman characterizes their music as “informed by present day anxieties and often inspired by science fiction.” A longtime house and techno dj, she cites Giorgio Morodor’s Donna Summer synthesizer masterpiece “I Feel Love” as one of her most significant early influences. Guitarist/Bassist Paul Coleman’s own catalog ranges from indie rock to experimental noise projects.
The band’s 2020 debut album This Perfect Day channeled a foreboding, synth-driven atmosphere and tense lyrics. The record showcased their formative influences, 80s bands such as Joy Division, The Fixx, Cocteau Twins, Gary Numan, and Depeche Mode. Although it was written and recorded just before the pandemic struck, the album’s dark tenor struck a chord upon its release by capturing the ensuing oppressive mood.
As Karl Magi from Spinditty notes, “This is an album that has a sharp, angular feel at times but is also capable of ghostly drifting and moments of warmth, but warmth tinged with melancholy.”
While “This Perfect Day” was dystopian and sometimes broadly political in its themes, Future Ruins finds us in the wake of months of pandemic isolation reflecting on our collective confrontation with ourselves. The music is lush and wild, filled with dense soundscapes, infectious bass-lines, and complex beats. The first single, “Blissed Out,” is a rapturous expression of the present-day urgency to stop doom-scrolling and reconnect with others. Its ecstatic rhythms, anthemic synthesizers, and compelling vocals convey the human drive to find joy in the darkest times.
“Architrave is a group that at its core is defined by the space between polarized continuums. Man and woman, joy and sorrow, proto-gothic new-wave post-punk and techno/disco/dance.” W.A. Wright, Nippertown
“Jennifer’s haunting, reverb-infused vocals are lullabyesque, not unlike those of Siouxsie Sioux, injecting a complementary goth sensibility into music that might otherwise verge more directly into new wave.” – Benj Gleeksman, No Echo
Future Ruins is available now on all streaming platforms as well as vinyl, cd, and cassette.
The video for “Blissed Out”, directed by Steve Hammond, is streaming now on YouTube.
You can check out the single “Blissed Out” on the bands Bandcamp page by clicking here.
Architrave is Jennifer Maher Coleman and Paul Coleman.
Click here for hi-res press photo.
Tracklisting:
- Blissed Out
- Crown Shyness
- Headcount
- Louis Kahn
- Loved and Lost
- Humble and Good
- Truth Serum
- Rend The Garments
- Slice of Life
- Take It Slow
RiYL: Phantogram, Wire, New Order, S. Product, Future Islands, Elysium, Shadow of Fear, Month of Sundays, Boysdream, Drab Majesty, Actors, Little Dragon, The Cure
Upcoming Dates:
11/19/21 Troy, NY at Rare Form
12/8/21 Brooklyn, NY at Gold Sounds
1/19/21-TBA
1/20/21-TBA
1/21/21 – Raleigh, NC at Ruby Deluxe
1/22/21-TBA
Press Inquiries: Bobby at JetPackPromtions.com
Jetpack Promotions 