Death and the Maiden’s Uneven Ground has been a constant on my playlist this year. This Ōtepoti trio blends post-punk guitars, brooding electronica, and ethereal vocals into a sound that feels both dreamlike and unsettling. It’s a dark, hypnotic journey I can’t stop returning to. - Hunter
"One of Aotearoa's most delightfully unique and exciting bands, Death and the Maiden have just unleashed their brilliant third album Uneven Ground digitally, and announced the vinyl copies are set to arrive later this month. An Ōtepoti based trio made up of bassist and vocalist Lucinda King, guitarist Hope Robertson, and drummer Danny Brady, the sound of Death and the Maiden defies an easy definition. Dreamlike earworm melodies and ethereal vocals meld with brooding electronica, noise experiments, and synth washes all collide to make for a gloriously one-of-a-kind album. This is the good stuff. " - Flying Out
Death and the Maiden’s Uneven Ground draws back the velvet curtain on the trio’s shadowy dreamworld with nine songs of their distinctive slow-motion fusion of underground electronic dance music and post-punk guitars washed through with psychic unease.
The trio’s name is taken from that of a nineteenth century engraving by Edvard Munch: an artwork steeped in mythology, exploring the dark boundaries between love and death, strength and frailty, beauty and decay. Their three albums to date each reinforce the symbolism of the name, and Uneven Ground’s title could apply as much to their own journey in the years since Wisteria, their previous album, as to the times in which we live.
Their three albums to date each reinforce the symbolism of the name, and Uneven Ground’s title could apply as much to their own journey in the years since Wisteria, their previous album, as to the times in which we live.
Bassist and vocalist Lucinda King is the bedrock, guide and storyteller. Guitarist Hope Robertson weaves swooping, soaring motifs and sometimes deconstructed layers of noise to build analogue atmosphere for these alternate worlds. Danny Brady’s beats mix old-school drum machines with electronic tones and distortion, while his synth arrangements blend elements of psy-trance and acid house with more amniotic ambient and industrial textures.
While Uneven Ground may be the most overtly "pop”-sounding album in their catalogue, it also ratchets up the ominous atmosphere, noise and experimentation. Once again King’s evocative lyrics appear as cryptic stories, built from events, memories, dreams, moments, warnings, regrets; where questions raised are left unanswered, and possibilities remain open.
Tracklist:
1. 364.1
2. Waratah
3. NOLA
4. Not Like
5. River
6. Leanest Cut
7. The Only One
8. Scent
9. Ceramic