In the modern world, it's rare that we'd ever have a chance to experiment with really surviving. Our every need and whim is entertained, and should we be even remotely uncomfortable, it wouldn't be long before we'd feel right again. Listening to the debut single from Thrill Jockey band Survival, however, we realize that the myth of survival, of being really alone with nothing but our resources and our brains, can be found in this track and we don't even have to leave the house. The sparse, pared-down doom-folk melodies and repetitive tapping on a hand drum in the song “Since Sun” makes us feel like we're a part of woodsy tribunal before branching out alone on a three-day self-discovery retreat. It's beautiful, soft, mellow, but entirely petrifying and ominous—who knows if we could actually survive if we were faced with it? The sound is contained and thoughtful, but with the potential for a melodramatic unleashing.
The band has announced that they'll be playing a record release show at The Acheron in Brooklyn on May 9, which coincides nicely with the May 14 release date of the self-titled full-length. You can preorder that record here and listen to the single, “Since Sun”, below.
