New stuff is in short supply these days (movies, sports, TV shows), but thankfully, the music world keeps serving up fresh treats for our consumption. Today, we are excited to premiere an engrossing new rock song called “Page Before” by Venus Furs. The moniker of Montreal’s Paul Kasner (multi-instrumentalist/writer/producer), Venus Furs hits on all facets of his self-described “psychadelicsurfpunkpop” sound. A sonic experience that runs over seven minutes, “Page Before” is like a big painting with multiple focal points. More than half the song is an epic instrumental jam to the end. The beachy guitar and fast percussion keep driving the song to far out places, rolling behind a contrastingly dark story.
“‘Page Before’ is a song about walking into a party with a weird vibe, only to discover that you are walking into your own wake,” Kasner told P&W. “There’s a nod to We Are Scientists in the lyrics (‘the scene is cold and the party’s dead’). There’s an abrupt change around the two-minute mark, to a bass-driven riff that builds and builds to a crescendo, with delayed noise solos matched in performance with panning, for a trippy headphone experience. This song is meaningful to me because it’s been closing my live sets for the last few years – something I can’t wait to be doing again. It’s also the last song on my upcoming debut album, and as such I’m thrilled that it’s the first to announce the album’s release date” (July 10th).
The press release also included some details about the full self-titled record. “This album, for all intents and purposes, is just a huge experiment in dealing with minutia,” Kasner explained. Noting that it took years to land on this collection of songs, the release goes on to describe his process. “At first just sitting with his guitar or piano and letting the sounds suggest themselves until forming a rough shape, he then meticulously layered, carved and contoured them into songs.” Kasner’s goal was “to capture the energy and feel of a live performance, utilizing the sounds of the live room as much as possible.”
Venus Furs
You can follow Venus Furs on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more updates about this summer’s forthcoming debut album, due for release on July 10th. Listen to “Page Before” right here – best enjoyed with loud headphones and no interruptions.
Article: Olivia Isenhart
