You may know SRSQ as Kennedy Ashlyn, one-half of the spirited shoegaze-y duo Them Are Us Too. Alongside the late guitarist Cash Askew, Ashlyn delivered soaring vocals wrapped in just enough reverb to tether them to Earth. Today, she is announcing her debut release as SRSQ (pronounced seer-skew), a project that originated out of grief, following Askew's death in late 2016.
"The Martyr," premiering above, is the first single from Unreality, out later this fall on Dais Records. On the song, Ashlyn retains the qualities that helped make T.A.U.T.'s music feel so transcendent — piercing vocals and droned-out production create an almost-surreal soundscape. "Impossible, impossible, impossible," she repeats at one point, hinting at some of the despair that is palpable across Unreality.
"'The Martyr' is about about being repeatedly pummeled by menaces of your own design. It’s about desperation and exhaustion and the hesitant resignation to these cyclical patterns," writes Ashlyn. "It functions as the initial ground on which the rest of Unreality is paved as it twists into much darker territory. "
Listen above.
Thumbnail photo by Kristin Cofer