Sex Fear (album release), Mail Fraud, Mio Min Mio, Supercritical

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Kelsie Herzog

The band Sex, Fear.

Sex, Fear

$15.

media release: "the grackly glare of interference broadcast on every station - why bother having stations? why bother bragging to people that they've reached another dead end?" is the sophomore effort by Madison's Sex, Fear. Taking heavy inspiration from the storied past of American indie rock alongside influences within contemporary post-punk, the album builds upon the ominous and restive sound captured in their 2022 debut, "Sex, Fear Presents:" while introducing new flourishes of instrumentation and avenues of sonic direction.

The band refers to the first and second halves of the album as the “cowboy side” and “alien side”. The “cowboy side” showcases gothic country leanings with the album's initial tracks, "Absolved," a song backdropped by jangly guitars, harmonica leads, and lyrics heavily inspired by T.S. Eliot, and the expansive "Chimneys," which oozes with folk horror tension, featuring jagged banjos, shrill and dissonant guitars, alongside a white-knuckled and perturbed rhythm section. All manner of organic and traditionally American extended instrumentation can be found on this side of the album, including the aforementioned banjo and harmonica as well as the use of mandolins and even a toy accordion. As for the “alien side”, the concept is showcased best on the album's closing track, "Roswell," which demonstrates the band's interest in the paranormal and the more synthetic and icy arrangements characteristic of the album's second half, featuring complex abrupt rhythmic changes, swelling synth lines, and layered and psychedelic vocals.

Recorded over three sessions at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, "the grackly glare of interference broadcast on every station - why bother having stations? why bother bragging to people that they've reached another dead end?" is the band's second full length, showcasing 47 minutes of the band's new evolution in sound, an exploration into blues instrumentation, subversive time signatures, and lush synthesizer tones.

Sex, Fear is a Madison-based post-punk quintet made up of Ayden Schultz (Guitar, Vocals), Jeff Deiss (Guitar), Nicholas Jacobson (Drums), Zac Stairs (Bass), and Matt Jarosinski (Guitar, Vocals)