Pity Sex - White Hot Moon

Ann Arbor quartet Pity Sex release their anticipated new album 'White Hot Moon,' via Run For Cover!

On 'White Hot Moon,' Pity Sex use the foundation of 2013's celebrated debut 'Feast of Love' as the framework for something bigger, stronger, and altogether more monumental, looking to wide-screen albums by Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth for inspiration.

As Sean St. Charles explains, "We thought a lot about pop conventions and how they work, and we're purposefully playing around with that."

Produced by Will Yip, the 12 original songs of 'White Hot Moon' showcase some of the most collaborative songwriting in the band's career, and that spirit has taken them in exciting directions - often several at once, dipping into different stylistic touchstones while maintaining a constant, grounding sense of emotion throughout.

Guitarists Britty Drake and Brennan Greaves spin huge webs of sound, anchored in shoegaze but branching off in a dozen directions, from fuzzed-out power-pop ("Bonhomie") to shimmering balladry ("Dandelion") and back again, while co-lyricist/drummer Sean St. Charles and bassist Brandan Pierce lock into step with floor-shaking low-end and subtly counterintuitive rhythms. Drake brings an immediacy to her intimate, fearlessly personal songs check the quietly devastating revelation of a recent loss in the opening moments of "Plum" guided by her airy, hypnotic vocals.

Meanwhile, Greaves' guitar parts bring gravity to St. Charles' more imagistic lyrics, his voice effortlessly segueing from baritone counterpoint for Drake to an evocative, confident croon. Together, as on highlight "What Might Soothe You," their voices bob and weave around each other in innervating tension before melting into harmony.

The result: wherever you visit 'White Hot Moon,' you'll come away refreshed, revitalized, and ready for Pity Sex to guide you along the rest of the trip.