Irish, Cork-based band Altered Hours, whose debut album In Heat Not Sorry will be out January 29 on Art For Blind and Penske Recordings, make dark, textured psychedelia. Today, the band shares their second single "Silver Leather," a song steeped in haze and distortion and armed with mind-blowing structure. The layers on this track are intricate in the way that Sonic Youth's Murray Street is. Every listen yields a new discovery—there's something that sounds like an organ, a mysterious bubbling, and the spooky-sweet synth in the background.
“'Silver Leather' was written in an old house in North Cork, Ireland sometime last year," Altered Hours' Cathal McGabhann told The FADER in an e-mail. The track's restless, unearthly vibe was informed partly by where it was recorded, as McGabhan continues, "We had a studio set up out in the middle of nowhere and we would stay out there for just weeks at a time recording demos. While I was tracking the demo I put down a scratch vocal take, singing about the first images that came to me. I enjoyed that I could relate to them while feeling that they were alien to me. It felt like something older than me needed to be said and I just needed to open my mouth."
Beyond channeling a power from within, the song also refers to rock history: "The title 'Silver Leather' came about while staring at The Stooges' Raw Power album cover," McGabhan says, "Iggy is wearing silver leather pants and I felt like this resonated with this track; the song stands for a general disgust and rebellion against modern life and harks back to an ancient form of rock and roll.” There's definitely something ancient, alien, and raw that comes through on "Silver Leather," and it's invigorating. Stream "Silver Leather" below.
Altered Hours' Spring Tour:
Sat 19th Dec – Connolly’s of Leap, Co. Cork (IE)
Fri 12th Feb – Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny (IE)
Fri 19th Feb – Kasbah Social Club, Limerick (IE)
Sat 20th Feb – The Workman’s Club, Dublin (IE)
Thurs 25th Feb – Roisin Dubh, Galway (IE)
Fri 26th Feb – The Black Box, Belfast (IE)
Sat 27th Feb – Brewery Corner, Kilkenny (IE)
Tues 8th Mar – Café Video, Ghent (BE)
Wed 9th Mar – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff (UK)
Thurs 10th Mar – MONO, Falmouth (UK)
Fri 11th Mar – The Audacious Art Experiment (UK)
Sat 12 Mar – Cosmosis Festival, Manchester (UK)
Sun 13th Mar – The Hug and Pint, Glasgow (UK)
Mon 14th Mar – The Musician, Leicester (UK)
Tues 15th Mar – Start The Bus, Bristol (UK)
Wed 16th Mar – The Shacklewell Arms, London (UK)
Thurs 17th Mar – Le Biplan, Lille (FR)
Fri 18th Mar – Espace B, Paris (FR)
Thurs 24th Mar – Ex Dogana, Roma (IT)
Fri 25th Mar – PnBox, Pordernone (IT)