Never satisfied with repeating past glories, Odonis Odonis continue to push the boundaries of what they can create by constantly challenging themselves and the listener. Much like a shark, the apex predator of the seas, the Canadian noise alchemists (consisting of core duo Constantin Tzenos and Denholm Whale) never stay still; they are constantly moving, evolving, improving and exploring new vistas of sound and visuals.
New single “Beast” is a mix of blistering infrasonic synths and growling bass and is the first release from forthcoming EP ICON. The sounds build, intertwining and blending to create a tapestry of shred-electronics and heavily distorted, snarl-whispered vocals. Right from the start the visceral intensity hits you like a shockwave; the darkwave pulses are so dense they feel physically heavy, something Odonis Odonis have seemingly mastered.
What’s more they’ve teamed up with Thomas Fec aka TOBACCO on “Beast” and the partnership is seamless, as are the other collaborations on the forthcoming EP; Vancouver post-punks ACTORS feature as do New York noise rock mainstays A Place to Bury Strangers and Vancouver darkwave singer and pianist Terror Bird among others. The five tracks featured on ICON have been written with these collaborations in mind, “We wanted to bring out what we admire in them and prove that we can do a variety of styles,” explains Denholm Whale.
The evolution of Odonis Odonis can be traced all the way back to their first album Hollandaze, a surf rock fever dream, all post-punk guitars and Joy Division-esque coldwave chill. Hard Boiled Soft Boiled was the 2014 follow-up and things have changed up somewhat; serious Bill Rieflin type drums drive the album, as things have become sleazier, more low slung. This is punk as if seen through the lens of a post apocalyptic ruinscape, the screen flickers and the skies pulse radioactive fallout.
2016’s Post Plague is a seismic shift; electronics have arrived with gnarly EBM sequences and dense textured synth pads being the new playground for the lads from Toronto. No Pop from 2017 riffed on the previous album’s pulses but here the machines have taken over, creating sinuous tendrils of cyberpunk ectoplasmic electronics. The cold heart of the cyborg beats hard on 2021’s Spectrums which adds layers of dark-pop, melody and soundtrack atmospherics.
All their songs are built around pristine production, huge melodies and abrasive beats giving us a slew of perfectly balanced dark-pop all jacketed in off-world atmospherics.
“Beast” is the sound of reality collapsing; noise folds and crumbles into itself and for three minutes we are pulled along by the gravity pummelling abrasion. It really does feel as if the nether-space between industrial, drone, EBM and darkwave have been blurred.
Odonis Odonis have unveiled a track of unremitting power and ICON promises to be the next exciting stage of their sonic evolution.
“Beast” is out now on Pirates Blend Records Inc. ICON drops June 9th 2023.
Odonis Odonis on the web
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Soundcloud
