Arrows of Love (an a blatantly stolen photo)

Arrows Of Love? Why not, we’ve all been occupied with other matters recently, for most East London creative minds survival is the occupying issue that has taken up most of our time this year. Beast is indeed a blitz though – we’ve seen the shit that’s going on out there, question is, they’re going to knock you (and your place) down are you just going to lie there or get back up and throw some stones? This new single or song or download (or whatever it is) is one hell of a defiant stone wrapped in barbed fuzz and angry noise and the perfect start to a Monday morning here in under-siege East London.  Everyday is becoming more what? This day is the darkest until the next one kicks in? it might be a dark beast of a thing but this is what we need, this is some serious stone throwing. And as we keep pointing out here on these fractured Organ pages, you don’t need words, music reviews are for the last century,  writing about music is redundant now, all you need from us are links, the facts and a signpost or two. Arrows of Love have a beast of a new song, there’s the soundcloud right there, cut to the  chaise and fire it up while you ponder the fact that in this city your never more than twenty feet from a link.

Here then, to kick start the day, is the latest slice of defiant energy from London’s Arrows of Love … Probably the best thing the The 5-piece (led by co-writers Nima and Nuha so it says on the hype sheet) have thrown at us thus far, vitally good, go grab some rocks, sling some arrows and fall in love….  (sw)

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HERE’S THE HYPE, THE CUT’N PASTE PRESS RELEASE AND THE FACTS OF THE MATTER

“Following the pulsating grit of their last single, ‘Toad’, Arrows Of Love are set to release ‘Beast’, a full-throttle triumphant blitz, out on December 8^th via Tape Records. This noise-doom anthem fuzzes and spits while frontman Nima approximates a swaggering demigod as if Geddy Lee was howling into a maelstrom kicked up by Sleep. At other moments the mix of mayhem and heaviness brings to mind the likes of Harry Pussy and Black Sabbath playing at the same time. A precursor to their anticipated second LP, ‘PRODUCT’, ‘Beast’ was produced by Mikko Gordon (Thom Yorke, Gaz Combes), in the studio he built himself at Goldsmiths University, and mastered by Bob Weston of Shellac.

During the last few months Arrows of Love stepped away from their album recording process to fight a campaign against the ex-Olympic Authority LLDC. With their own warehouse community threatened with demolition as London continues to lose parts of its soul to gentrification, Vittoria Wharf hit local and worldwide news when residents stood up to fight closure. The band and a slew of local artists spearheaded the defence of what i-D called “a thriving centre for cultural and artistic output” during the #savevittoriawharf campaign.

Arrows Of Love (photo: Jamie Morrison)

‘Beast’ is a song built for speed. Its anthemic forward march is a sensibility that runs counter to the over-stuffed, of-the-moment world we live in and its context runs parallel with the bands defiant nature. “A lot of people have asked me if I’ve written any songs about this fight with the corporation” says Nima, “This song was actually written over a year ago, but as we’ve been playing and recording it this summer the lyrics turned out to be prophetically relevant”. Proving that Arrows Of Love are one of a rare breed of bands that stand by what they preach when the moment calls

Arrows Of Love are, above all, a live phenomenon. Originally aligned with the early East London wave of bohemian rock bands, it was their fiercely independent and creative drive that has taken them across the globe, to the likes of SXSW and End of the Road, to sharing stages with the likes of The Fall, Buzzcocks, British Sea Power, 80’s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, The King Blues and many more. It’s on stage where London’s own Arrows truly hit home, Now, gearing up for the release of ‘PRODUCT’, the band are set to prove themselves the real deal. Drawing comparisons to the discordant, emotive musicianship of Sonic Youth to the raw power of McClusky, this second LP sees a band fully diversified, ready to release something truly unique.”.

Don’t you just love music business hype and the hope of a press release, you got the facts though, all you really need in that soundcloud thing up there…

Live dates – December 7^th, Supersonic – Paris, December 8^th, The Lexington – London. Beast is out on December 9^th via Tape Records

Hackney Wick, AIDA WILDE,  July 2016