Tag: Weak Signal

Review: Weak Signal – Bianca

Bubbling up from NYC’s underground music scene, Weak Signal‘s new album, Bianca, roars with dark post-punk energy mixed with early 1990s alt-rock riffs.

“I’m the enemy of the world. Nothing ever really dies,” they sing on the album’s opener, “I’m a Fire,” putting down loud guitar riffs alongside their lyrics. The chugging bass on “Voice Inside My Head” is infectious.

“I don’t wanna go to work. Me and my friends were out all night…” opens the heavy, sludgy “Drugs in My System” – a song about dealing with party aftermaths. “Barely a Trace” sounds like a somewhat dusty, slightly warped record you’d hear playing on a jukebox at the back of a diner in a David Lynch film. “Come Back” is a simple, yet haunting track about regret and loss accentuated by rising synths and mantra-like guitar riffs.

“Zones” has this same kind of mantra sound before the bolder, faster “Don’t Turn Around,” which wouldn’t be out of place on a record from A Place to Bury Strangers. “Borderzone” is probably the mellowest track on the album, drifting in and out like smoke. “Devotion” brings back sharp-edged riffs that come into the track, rattle you a bit, and then meld back into the shadows.

“I’ll go where I want to go, and I’ll love who I want to love,” Mike Bones sings on “I’ll Stay,” a beautiful track about finding freedom through self-realization. “Sorry” is a nice companion to it. It’s still mellow, but a bit upbeat, and it’s a nice warm-up before the loud, weird finish of “Too Strong.”

It’s cool record, and perfect for certain moods (gray days, late nights).

Keep your mind open.

[Trace a line over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jake at Ramp Global.]

Weak Signal release “Barely a Trace” ahead of their eagerly anticipated album re-release this October.

Photo by Peter Smith

In classic punk-fashion, but also in normal-human, I-have-no-idea-what-the-future-holds-because-it’s-a-pandemic fashion, Weak Signal, led by one of New York’s most sought-after guitarists Mike Bones, dropped their new album Bianca on Bandcamp out of nowhere in May of 2020 (it’s since been taken down). Although it was unmastered and flew mostly under the radar, it was reviewed by a fewspots, and Iggy Pop graciously featured the track “Drugs In My System” on his BBC radio show. 

Now, thanks to Colonel Records, Bianca is seeing a proper digital and vinyl release on October 15th, and the band is celebrating today’s announcement with the single “Barely A Trace,” which comes paired with a new music video directed and edited by the band’s drummer Tran. Additional exciting news includes a release show at Brooklyn venue Union Pool on October 8th, followed by a two-week run opening for beloved psych-rockers Garcia Peoples.

“Barely A Trace is about feeling lingering presences around you, swirling confusion from sudden disappearances, like when you discover someone found your stash spot,” says Mike Bones. “Our drummer Tran made the video during the early days of the COVID lockdown in Vietnam, Spring 2020. The song and video are our attempts to affect an approximation of the perfect loneliness and separation present in the work of writers like Marguerite Duras or David Markson.”

Mike Bones has made deep and deeply loved solo albums as a singer and guitarist, and with ad hoc supergroup Soldiers of Fortune. The versatile instrumentalist has also played on albums by Cass McCombs, Endless Boogie and Run the Jewels. Weak Signal, the band he’s put together with Sasha Vine and Tran, is his hardest and leanest group to date, the quality of the songs and music on this album is matched by the supreme style of the band members.

Weak Signal represent a constant on the NYC underground… the trio’s dark cinematic pop evokes late summer nights, apathy and urgency, buzz guitars over garbage trucks. The range of Mike Bones’ guitar suggests he’s been lured by the sweet tone of Peter Green, as well as the metallic attack of Paul Reynolds. The rhythm section of Sasha and Tran – bass and drums – is the sound of summer thunder.

On their sophomore LP – Bianca – Weak Signal have amplified every aspect of their magnetism. The pop is lusher, the drums more bludgeoning and the guitar tone is nastier than ever. They’ve created a thick sonic morass that’s simultaneously tranquil and exhilarating. Weak Signal have truly found their stride with Bianca, and it’s a full-blown gallop

Keep your mind open.

[Trace your steps over to the subscription box while you’re here.]

[Thanks to Jake at Ramp Global.]