Philadelphia band The Obsessives have shared a new EP Monastery, out now via Memory Music. The EP was produced by Will Yip, the Grammy-nominated producer behind records like Mannequin Pussy’s Patience, Bartees Strange’s Live Forever, Nothing’s The Great Dismal and Turnover’s Peripheral Vision.
After going through numerous stylistic changes over the years and releasing their latest LP in 2017 via Lame-O Records, founding members Nick Bairatchnyi (guitar, bass, vocals) and Jackson Mansfield (drums, guitar, keys) brought on Ben Kaunitz (guitar, bass) and Coby Haynes (drums, percussion) a year later to round out the group.
Monastery opens with the twinkly warmth of “Lala,” which takes off with big-hearted hooks, even if the lyrics are preoccupied with bracing for a cataclysmic event. “Everyone get down on to your hands and knees / If the big one drops / I’m sure we all will see / In this life there are no guarantees,” Bairatchnyi sings before they launch into a melancholy synth solo. Their glistening keys and misty-eyed refrains also resurface on track two, “I’ll Always Love You,” which has plenty to celebrate and mourn—though the narrator professes their addiction to love (and the news), and has admitted to romantic miscalculations, what looms larger is their undying compassion. They close with a slow, stripped-down cover of The Breeders’ 1993 classic “Divine Hammer,” which fits in with their theme of searching for greener pastures.
Watch the video for “Lala” below, and purchase their EP here. Scroll down for the artwork and tracklist.
Monastery EP Artwork:
Monastery Tracklist:
01. Lala
02. I’ll Always Love You
03. Divine Hammer (The Breeders)
