Rabbit by Turtle Skull

Art As Catharsis are proud to announce Rabbit. the first single from Turtle Skull’s second album, Monoliths – a texture-rich record that dances between bone-crushing lows and ethereal highs.

Stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon and Tidal: https://smarturl.it/TS-Rabbit

Taking inspiration from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Turtle Skull’s blend of warped psychedelia, shattering doom and indie-rock sensibility merges into their own brand of music dubbed ‘flower doom’.

While the final product contains a faint similarity to the sounds of King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Khruangbin, or Kikagku Moyo, Monolith is distinctively its own beast. It’s a record that heaves and soars, taking joyous compositions and steering them headfirst into a realm of fuzz and fury.

“For me this album and this band was an opportunity to take everything back to the simplest form,” says vocalist/guitarist Dean McLeod. “I’d been listening to lot of drone, heavy psych, stoner doom, ambient stuff, and one of the things that often unite these somewhat disparate genres is the extensive use of drones and ambient synths.

“This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between… and most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you. “

Jumping from intricate picking to scorching low end riffs, Rabbit hits with some of the most memorable sounds in Turtle Skull's repertoire to date. Undeniably catchy, the guitars and drums bounce off each-other with crushingly heavy hooks, nearly anchoring the listener to the shuddering depths of their collective tone.

“Rabbit is an interesting one,” continues McLeod. “It’s the shortest song on the album and in some respects it’s different to the others, there’s a more frantic energy to it. Thematically it’s about Australia’s terrible track record of dealing with refugees. It’s something we feel pretty strongly about. Australia is a giant country with seemingly infinite wealth and space, yet we continually ignore our legal and moral obligation to provide assistance to some of the people on this Earth who need it the most. It’s an unfortunate situation that the government and the media have created a false narrative to further their own interests.”

At the end of its runtime, Monoliths undeniably displays a much more fleshed-out realisation of the doom, psych rock and indie fusion that launched the five-piece into the public eye following their self-titled release. Tipping between heavy and catchy is the strength of Monoliths - the roar of the fuzzed-out amps is counterbalanced by feather-light vocals, creating a contrast as clear and harmonious as sun and sky. For fans old and new, this is fusion at it’s finest – a record with something to offer every listener.

Tracklist

1.	Rabbit	4:01

Credits

released April 17, 2020

This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between. It’s about greed, racism, colonialism and technological destruction. It’s about hopelessness and despair. It’s about self love and introspection. It’s about friendship and the power of shared experience. It’s about life-changing psychedelic journeys. It’s about connecting with the source. And most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you.

We suggest you set aside some time to immerse yourself. Remove distractions, get comfortable, do what feels good to get in your zone, use your favourite speakers or headphones, and listen all the way through. Or not, it’s up to you. Either way, we made this record to accompany your journey, in any form you choose.

We recorded the bulk of it during a week long session at La Cueva in northern NSW with some of our closest friends and family. The rest was recorded in Dan’s studio in Coogee, Sydney.

We recognise Australia as Aboriginal land. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we recorded this album, the Arakwal people of the Bundjalung Nation, and the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We understand the deep spiritual connection these cultures share with the land, water, animals and spirits. We pay our humble respects to ancestors and to Elders past, present and emerging.

Tobia Blefari - Percussion (congas, rain stick, shaker, tambourine)
Julian Frese - Bass, piano, vocals
Dan Frizza - Synths
Charlie Gradon - Drums, vocals
Dean McLeod - Guitars, vocals

All songs by Turtle Skull
Lyrics by Charlie, Dean & Rachel Pascall

Produced by Dan Frizza & Turtle Skull
Recorded and mixed by Dan Frizza
Mastered by Michael Lynch

Artwork by Davey Fenn
Graphic design by Jim Grimwade

Special thanks to: Lachlan Dale at Art As Catharsis, Anthony Blayney at Your Mate Bookings, Nick Didia and Bernard Fanning at La Cueva, Aedan O’Donnell, Matt Toon, Nathan Starchild, Ali Vann, and most importantly our friends, families and partners for providing us with inspiration and love.

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