life is too short to listen to old music
abracadabra
abracadabra
country: USA
genre: Alternative, Indie
styles: Dub, New Wave, Synth, Baroque Pop, Disconotdisco, Experimental
talk talk
Single
Reviews and Comments
Oakland’s abracadabra announced their new album, shapes & colors, which is coming out via Melodic on January 20th, earlier this month with “in a photo”. The band is back today with their second single, “talk talk.” abracadabra is once again lampooning the pitfalls of modernity and technological “progress,” which their proximity to silicon valley makes too hard to ignore. On “talk talk”, a breezy and undeniably dance-able number, the band again calls out the phonies of the world and the sadness of their inability to see beyond their screens. A prescient song in the wake of Twitter’s slow demise and rising calls to boycott social media. “talk talk” dissects the harmful and often violent outcomes of echo chambers and propaganda and the loss of genuine human connection caused by our society's reliance on communicating through social media. Always optimistic, abracadabra insists that we can transcend this, and that divorcing ourselves from these deeply unhealthy patterns will allow us a way out. In the nicest way possible, they’re telling us all to “touch grass".
On the song, the band writes,
“These days it seems all-too-easy to develop an opinion and then close yourself off from listening to and exchanging with others. ‘talk talk’ is brimming with hope for humanity and our ability to unite through our humanness and cultivate a genuine empathy and relationship via communication. It is the optimistic reminder to ourselves and the listener alike that we have the ability to do better even despite the pitfalls that modern technology presents.”
abracadabra, helmed by Hannah Skelton and Chris Niles, delves into disco, dub, and art-rock on shapes & colors. Imbuing every song with an undeniable groove replete with 80s inspired new-wave synths and delightfully psychedelic rhythms, the band tackles the trials of late-capitalist anguish with a smirk and a bit of optimism.
latest releases
Single
the hand that feeds / swim (extended dub mix)
out on November 14, 2023
via Melodic
Single
the hand that feeds (NIN cover)
out on October 17, 2023
via Melodic
LP
shapes & colors
out on January 20, 2023
via Melodic
Single
at the zoo
out on January 09, 2023
via Melodic
Single
in a photo
out on November 10, 2022
via Melodic
