Experimental legends LOOP are returning with Sonancy, their first new album in 33 years, in a matter of weeks. We’ve already heard lead single “Halo” and today they share a second called “Fermion”. You might be thinking that that sounds like a pretty scientific title, and you’d be right. Guitarist and singer Robert Hampson says about his approach across the album:
“I’m influenced by J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick to a certain degree. Lyrically, if you listen to it intently, there’s this dystopian outlook. There’s a lot of anger in there. I don’t like seeing the wanton abuse of power, which is what we’re seeing right now and I’m disgusted by it. I wouldn’t say ‘Sonancy’ is bleak though because I’m one of those people who believes there’s a chance for change. That may be naïve, but I always hope that people will come out of this coma they all seem to be in. I’ve imbued the lyrics with a little bit of hope.”
“Fermion” is the name for “a subatomic particle, such as a nucleon, which has half-integral spin and follows the statistical description given by Fermi and Dirac”. With that in mind, it’s fun to imagine being shrunk down to the level of a subatomic particle and being hurtled through some kind of high-powered physics experiment while listening to “Fermion”. LOOP provide super charged channels of guitar the rumble through your ears with the sparking charge of particles shot at impossibly high speeds. At the centre, Frampton’s voice is stolid against the endless rush – like he’s used to channelling these kinds of high energies – and it gives his words extra wisdom against the endless deluge of sound.
Check out the video for “Fermion” below or find it on streaming platforms.
LOOP’s new album Sonancy is out on March 11 through Cooking Vinyl (pre-order/save). You can find the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
