New - Graphics - The Great Unconfusing - Cassette

Graphics is a mathy instrumental no-wave band based in Chicago. Founded as a trio in 2017, the band wrote and recorded its first EP, Meaninglessnessless on Planted Tapes in December 2019. Adding Luc Mosley on saxophone in 2021, Graphics recorded 10 tunes (new and rearranged) at Doug Malone’s Jamdek studio in Chicago in the Fall of 2022. The result is the band's most complete statement to date - The Great Unconfusing, out November 16, 2024 on Lurker Bias.

Declarative-yet-labyrinthine riffs fire in rapid succession, followed by dynamic explorations of minimal melodies woven across subtly-shifting rhythmic structures. Segments of the album work as puzzles, 'solved' after a few repetitions to unlock new puzzles around different musical mechanics. Focusing on rarely-heard harmonies, Graphics dodge cliched emotional appeals, instead evoking confusion, curiosity, contradiction and triumph.

Combining Beefheart-inspired riff-collages, Horse-Lords-esque rhythmic mutation, the growling noise-rock call-and-response of the Jesus Lizard, the comedic timing and absurdity of Gong, and a Fripp-ian obsession with resolving dissonant harmonies claustrophobic note clusters, Graphics mold these influences into a sound all their own that is simultaneously heavy and transcendent. Deathly serious and playfully absurd at the same time, The Great Unconfusing is a surprise at every turn.