Sometimes the slower a song goes, the faster it’s able to resonate with its audience: every note played, and every word sung, and every beat hit is given ample time to be thought over, and felt, upon entering the ear, and subsequently the mind. Afraid, a three-piece from Portland, Maine, have taken this approach to songwriting to heart in their new single, “Baby Fangs ’77”: a creepy snooze-fest that is deliberate in its purpose, and powerful in its meaning.
Snail’s-pace delayed metronome clacks open the track and lead the way for an incredibly downtrodden chime-effected keyboard and the barely present, single-note bass playing. The simplicity of the instruments only bolsters the ghostly moans of the vocals, which certainly echo the band moniker—either instilling fear in listeners, or showing it themselves. An equally eerie video accompanies the single: the three members give a nighttime performance on the edge of a swimming pool, completely motionless at their instruments, as they are eventually sprayed with what appears to be blood. The only apparent movement occurs in the final seconds, as the microphone is dropped into the pool.
“Baby Fangs ’77” is the first single off Afraid’s debut record, Sinister Vibes, out on Crash Symbols on March 24.
