Formed in 2011, Distortion Mirrors was initially the sole project of classically trained pianist Luke Worle and was heavily influenced by the bedroom synth aesthetic that has dominated the musical landscape in recent years. Wanting to break off into different avenues of musical experimentation, Worle brought on guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Josiah Brooks into the Distortion Mirrors fold. Their early recordings caught the attention of acclaimed producer Sylvia Massey (Tool, Johnny Cash), and an EP, Circle of Wolves, was soon released on German label suRRism Phonoethics. Ditching the Big Apple for a stay in Los Angeles, the duo began recording the songs which would form the basis of their first LP,Zeros and Kings, which is due out sometime later this year. Though in an unexpected move, the band recorded and released a soundtrack, Diana, Orchid of Diamonds, for the film Shattered Silence, but they don’t consider it their proper debut.
For our latest glimpse into Zeros and Kings, the band has chosen viscous rocker “Streets of Fire, Heart of Ice.” Raining down sheets of thick, chugging riffwork and dense rumbling percussion, Worle and Brooks dig deep into the heart of classic 90’s alternative music. Bands like The Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer lay battered alongside the wayside as the duo rushes through their collective influences at a marathon pace. Pressing up close to the industrial gloom of Nine Inch Nails, “Streets of Fire, Heart of Ice,” churns through an unrelenting rock murkiness that threatens to swallow everything. But Worle’s complex rhythms and Brooks’ brutal ax-slinging keeps the darkness at bay, though you can feel it pressing in just on the edge of the song’s periphery.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the latest track, “Streets of Fire, Heart of Ice,” from Distortion Mirrors’ forthcoming debut.
