A Personal But Sonically Spacious Single from Animalweapon
- BuzzSlayers
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
A new single from Animalweapon recently dropped from Polychromatic Records brings together such spacious and vast undertones with elements of edginess lurking just beneath the surface, plenty of emotional push, descriptive lyrics that put you in the moment with the song, and a semi cinematic aesthetic that has a wonderful way of wrapping itself around you and keeping you right where it wants to.
"Tug" blends plenty of elements of electronic music, utilizing synth pads to create huge atmospheres that flow, swish, and swallow.
It is unbelievably easy to get engulfed by this track and it has a unique way of pulling you away from wherever you are and whatever you're doing, and putting you in a different headspace for a little chunk of time, which I found outstanding.
This is mostly because you don't always get that kind of thing. This track is like an escape and when you listen deeply, you can soak in all of these sonic textures and layers that are drifting around you.
As a matter of fact, one of the best ways to listen to this track is with headphones so you can actually take in all of those layers properly.
The synthesizers are key elements of the track, creating a bit of a robust but very calming kind of aesthetic, bringing you into the artists world.
And this world is quite a beautiful one.
The beat is sort of minimalistic and the instrumentation also features natural elements like piano that add even more depth to the single, and also helping create more of that emotional backbone it sits on.
Lyrically, it is detail at times, enough so that you can pay to picture in your head as the song unfolds.
This is what I mean by being able to put you in the moment with the song itself.
It's not just about the descriptive lyrics, but the way they're performed vocally as well. The vocals are soft, sort of delicate, bordering on a whisper and that lends a hand to the smooth and almost docile soundscape a lot of the rest of the song delivers.
Even though he's painting that picture lyrically, the vocals are almost like instruments themselves.
The combination of natural and digital instrumentation, along with those vocals, really do create something that you can swim through.
There's a lot of dreaminess going on. You are invited to hear the story and float alongside the mood the instruments create.
This is kind of important also. The lyrics are almost like being smitten by somebody. Being able to remember the little details of a situation when you're with someone that you are infatuated with. Even if it's just in that one moment, the intensity is real, and the artist was able to capture that feeling incredibly well.
The way the music itself creates that mood to go along with the lyrics is wonderfully woven and again, something that sort of swallows you up but brings you along for this ride.
Along with the electronic element, you have a bit of an indie-pop and dream-pop approach as well.
You can definitely hear a slew of influences that the artist holds close to his heart shining through and laced into the song in different spots.
At a certain point in the song the beat intensifies, nuisance come into play, and the song becomes more full-bodied than it was before.
This is kind of like the climactic moment where you get the highest level of intensity, again mostly due to the emotion, and then it exhales back down to where it began.
Soft, subtle, and almost submissive.
It's almost like he left the situation trying to fight it but in the end, the song portrays that submissive element. He submitted to the fact that he is smitten, maybe even in love, and he can't get it out of his head.
This was a gorgeous piece of work that really paid a lot of attention to the little details, arrangements, and rises and falls of that intensity so that you can take that ride with it.
Now, if you're not too familiar with Animalweapon, then this is an amazing place to start, however I do urge you to go through some of his back catalog because there's some amazing stuff out there including an album from 2022 called Sets of Constraints which also delves into a sort of deepening soundscape but has elements of industrial peppered in and you can hear that slight alternative element pushing through as well.
There's still a lot of that expansive and spacious, ambient underbelly, but you hear a lot of other slightly harder influences.
Polychromatic Records themselves also have a really cool roster with some artists that are insanely worth listening to.
Obviously Animalweapon being one of them, but there are some other ones on their label that are also outstanding.
Upon listening to this single I wanted to chat with the artist to find out where it actually came from and what might be coming up next.
So, while you listen to this single and hopefully more, have a read through with our interview with Animalweapon below.
Remember where you heard it first.
Where did this release come from and what was it about to you?
“Tug” came from a very personal and vulnerable place. I wanted to write something that at its core was a simple, intimate love song, but wrapped in a bigger and lusher production that makes it feel a little epic, because love often feels that way when you’re in it. It’s for anyone that’s loved someone across time, space, alternate realities.
I am hearing a few different styles on this one. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
My influences are pretty wide-ranging, and I try to borrow from all of them while keeping everything broadly electronic at the end of the day. Kiasmos’ self-titled album has been a huge inspiration, particularly on this song. Beyond that, I’m often likened to some kind of hybrid between Massive Attack, Flying Lotus, Phantogram, Radiohead, Battle Tapes or Nine Inch Nails for my heavier stuff - all very much part of my DNA.
Are you performing live right now?
I am, but the last few years I’ve been much more intentional about when, where, how often I play, and I’ve been trying to introduce something new with each show. You have to balance attracting new fans with rewarding old ones - I never put on the same show twice, and lately I’ve been taking some big swings that have been paying off. My most recent one featured more guest vocals than I’ve ever done before, and I think we stuck landing. Stuff like that keeps things interesting, though of course I do have my staples.
How did this all start for you as an artist and producer?
I started off playing acoustic singer-songwriter stuff in coffee shops, but after a couple years of that, I found that it just wasn’t resonating with me anymore and I wanted something totally different. I tried to get a rock band going at one point, and we came up with some cool stuff, but we couldn’t align schedules so ultimately nothing came of that. Right around that time, I was starting to get into more and more electronic music, so it felt natural to say “Screw it, I’ll do it myself.” The infinite possibilites that come with making electronic music, and not having to rely on anyone else, was so freeing. I reworked a half-written song from the coffee shop days into “Mexican Standoff,” the first Animalweapon song, and never looked back.
Did you work with another producer on this release, or was this all you?
Mark Watrous (The Shins, The Raconteurs) produced this one and it was my first time not doing everything myself. It’s a game-changer having another voice in the room, someone who really elevates the material - sometimes subtly, sometimes on a much bigger scale, but keeping true to what we started with. That said, given how personal this particular song is, Mark took much more of a back seat and let me cook here, and just killed it on the post-production.
What is your DAW setup like?
Pretty minimal. I compose in Logic, although I perform in Ableton. Give me my Mac, a couple of MIDI controllers and way, way too many plugins and I’m perfectly content.
What's next for you? Working on more new releases?
All I can say at the moment is that there is a LOT more coming, and very, very soon. I’m really excited to share everything I’ve been working on the last couple of years.
What kind of advice would you give to other up and coming bands or artists trying to get heard?
Getting heard is difficult and often soul-crushing. Make honest music that YOU would want to hear, without catering to an audience. Historically what’s worked for me is just doing whatever I want and hoping it resonates with people later.
What would you say people can expect to hear on this track?
Heartfelt honesty and tenderness, with cool production. I really wore my heart on my sleeve here, which is always terrifying, but much more so with it being a single that I’m trying to draw attention to. Having this be the first thing people have heard from me in four years is nerve wracking. “Do it scared” was the mantra, and I’m hoping that vulnerability is what sells it.
Before we go, what would you want to express to fans of the music?
My eternal gratitude. I’ve been doing this a long time and I still have day-oners keeping tabs on me and I’m so grateful for every ounce of support I’ve gotten over the years.
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