Since the label that released his first album, 2019’s blend of shoegaze and britpop Through A Coil, fell apart, Los Angeles producer/songwriter Chris Adams (aka Pendant) has been teasing his new album, which, per a press release, “connects ‘90s house and rave music with hip-hop, shoegaze and pop.” Tuesday, he announced that he’s signed to Saddle Creek Records, known for releasing music by Big Thief and Spirit of the Beehive, and he’s released a new song, “Blood Rite.” Embracing a diverse palette of synths, stuttering drums and other electronic elements, Adams delivers a mighty blend of elements that make synth-pop and rave music so divine, all while working within the realm of introspection. At times feeling like Justice and at times a bit like Crystal Castles, Pendant captures the magic that made both stand out.
Of the track, Adams says: “I wrote ‘Blood Rite’ as an attempt to reckon with my past, unveiling traumas from my childhood and connecting them to the person I see myself as today. I wanted to track the ways in which I’m bound to my past for better and for worse—the memories that haunt me make me who I am just as much as the sentimental ones. It all runs through my blood concurrently and guides me through my life.”
Alongside the track is a video of the artist performing the song at Bachelor’s Doomin Sun Fest, in which he makes the journey from his motorbike to the ocean. Check it out below before revisiting where Through A Coil ranked on our Best Shoegaze Albums of 2019 list.
