Album Art by Frank Okay
(Chicago, IL) – New Noise premieres BEASTII single “Evil Eye” today. This is the fifth track released from the band’s upcoming album, Follower, out September 6th, 2024 via Dark Circles Records. Pre-order link HERE. Check out the premiere HERE.
“This song is about creating a boundary from negative psychic energy someone or something sends you, even by invoking you in their thoughts,” explains Jen Dot (aka Jen B. Larson, author of “Hit Girls: Women of Punk in the USA, 1975-1983” and former Swimsuit Addition guitarist and singer). “Envy is not a new energy, but now more than ever, because of the internet, people can see into each other’s lives in a particularly intrusive and unhealthy way; social media, especially, brings people to compare themselves to and feel envious of others’ successes. This song is intended to be mantra-like and create a forcefield for the listener to retain space for loving, supportive relationships and to be able to focus on their work without the disruptive, destructive noise people who are ultimately unhappy with their own lives can bring.”
Every song on the album is being released as a single each Friday leading up to the album drop date. On one level, the album is about chasing and being chased. It’s title, Follower, and the cover art contains overt Pac-Man imagery. In the game of Pac-Man, four ghosts pursue Pac- Mac in a deadly maze chase. But when Pac-Man consumes a large, flashing “power pellet,” the ghosts change to blue and the relationship is reversed: the pursuer becomes the pursuant. The ghosts eventually regenerate and resume chasing Pac-Man.
All the songs on Follower were written, performed, and produced by BEASTII, and recorded and mixed by Chris Lee at the VCR in Chicago, Illinois between January 2023 and March 2024. Lee has recorded hundreds of underground artists in Chicago, including notable acts such as Twin Peaks, Kenny Hoopla, Nnamdi, Show You Suck, Deeper, and Al Scorch.
BEASTII, founded by Dot in Chicago in 2016, cite influences such as Wire, Au Pairs, Pylon, Soft Cell, Joy Division, Kate Bush, the Breeder’s, the B52’s, Moebius & Beerbohm, and Devo. Dot recorded the initial EP, Love Harder, over a few months, using a combination of live and electronic instruments. She had her friend, Chris Lee, master it. For live sets Jen and Chris put together a high-energy four-piece, combining elements from early ’80s post-punk, ’60s surf and garage rock, and ’90s alternative and grunge. Maureen Neer (Soddy Daisy and Bloodhype) and Becca Nisbet (Swimsuit Addition and The Baby Magic) joined them on bass and guitar, respectively.
BEASTII will appeal to fans of The Hives, the Buzzcocks, Gang of Four, Wire, PJ Harvey, the Cramps.
L-R: Jesse Fevvers, Asha Adisa, Jen Dot, Chris Lee, Kai Black. Photo by Chris Nightengale.
BEASTII is:
Jen Dot – vocals, guitar, keys, electronic drums
Jesse Fevvers – vocals, guitar, electronic drums
Chris Lee – drums, backing vocals
Asha Adisa – vocals, keys
Kai Black – bass, keys
Maureen Neer – vocals, bass
FIND BEASTII ONLINE