Russia isn’t exactly the safest place to be an artist right now, as psych rock outfit Gnoomes would surely attest. Living in exile, one assumes such a plight manifests into music that’s jaded and sullen in its sonic makeup. The group’s latest single “Ax Ox” – the title track of the band’s upcoming LP – is anything but, instilling a rapturous bliss with its giddy motorik-driven pulse, electro-acoustic psychedelics and soft-spoken, Russian-sung vocals.
The band describe Ax Ox as “some sort of manifesto, pretty much inspired by Stereolab. It’s a metaphor of what’s going on to our country. It feels like we’re traveling on a rusty and wrecked train through space and time. The epochs change, but the problems stay the same and we don’t know how it’s possible, but the train is still moving.”
“Ax Ox” will be released on March 3rd via Rocket Recordings and can be pre-ordered via the band’s Bandcamp-page. “In our opinion this album could be a psychedelic musical about growing up and living in the Post Soviet Russia,” according to Sasha Piankov, who founded the band with his wife Masha Piankova. “If you watched (Adam Curtis’ documentary series) Traumazone, it’s not complicated really to imagine the visual part of the musical!”
Watch the “Ax Ox” lyric visualizer below or find the song on streamers.
Ax Ox, the album, is out on March 3 through Rocket Recordings. Follow Gnoomes on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
