NYC trio New Myths strike a pretty profound existential chord for me for a few reasons… Not only is their debut LP, Give Me Noise, out on my very own 30th birthday, October 14th… but their morbidly danceable, often-synthetic, sounds remind me of my most lovely angsty teen years, ruled by the likes of Blondie and New Order… They also recently played Philthy’s Boot & Saddle for a set that my jaded ass didn’t actually have to pretend to be amused by… I actually was. New Myths are a trio of postmodern vixens (Rosie Slater, Marina Ross, and Brit Boras), who officially came together in 2012, after a lifetime of endearingly haphazard encounters, including a highschool band, a university jazz conservatory, and a shared childhood neighborhood. Their debut LP embodies pretty much every kind of sonically morose ass-wiggler that could be expected of the children of post-punk, new wave, and synthpop. Their album release party is October 17th at Cameo Gallery in Brooklyn, followed by a string of CMJ dates at Union Hall, Niagra Bar, The Delancey, and Mercury Lounge. The ladies recently took some time to chat with me about their origins.
Izzy Cihak: Since this is a Philadelphia-based publication, and you were just here, I have to ask: What are your thoughts on the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection?
New Myths: Philly is great! The venue and the bands were awesome, and everyone we met at the show was super cool, too. This was our first time here as a band so we were pumped to do a little wandering before the show… We did the tourist Philly Cheesesteak/thrift store thing. We had a blast and will definitely be back soon.
Izzy: What have been the highlights of New Myths so far?
New Myths: It’s all been fun so far! One of the biggest highlights was definitely hearing Lou Reed introduce one of our songs on his radio show… That was a total trip. We also got to play a live acoustic set on the Goddamn Dave Hill show on WFMU in Jersey City. For the month of August, we hosted a residency at Pianos in NYC – that was a blast! It was great to play every week, meet a bunch of new bands, and put together some shows with our friends, too.
Izzy: And how would you describe your process of writing and recording together?
New Myths: It’s a little bit of organized chaos. On this album it started mostly with Brit bringing in an idea. Then we all got together and fleshed things out. Most of the songs were tracked in a kind of “built from the ground up” way – starting with guitar, bass, drums, vocals and then adding synths and miscellaneous stuff from there. We all get super enthusiastic about different sounds, so we had a blast playing with different textures and manipulating different synths/instruments.
Izzy: You’re about to release your debut LP (on my thirtieth birthday, actually), Give Me Noise. How would you characterize the sound of the album, for those who may be yet to hear you?
New Myths: Happy Birthday! We would characterize it as dark, danceable art rock – heavy grooves, raging guitars, and ethereal vocals.
Izzy: What would you say are the album’s most significant influences?
New Myths: That’s a tough one and the answer changes from song to song. We all come from very different musical backgrounds, (to give you the short version, Brit and Rosie met studying Jazz in college while at the same time Rosie and Marina were in a pop-punk/grunge band), so the influences are all over the place. The influences on this album range anywhere from Michael Jackson to Kate Bush, Them Crooked Vultures to Rihanna, Placebo to Tears for Fears.
Izzy: You each (and collectively) have a really great sense of fashion. What does that draw inspiration from? Do you have any particular “style icons?”
New Myths: Thanks! I’m not sure that we can pinpoint our inspiration as far as fashion goes? Marina just graduated from FIT and she’s a fantastic designer, so she definitely has a big hand in our styling – she actually designed and sewed the clothes for a photo shoot we did a little while ago. We all lean towards styles that are tailored but still a little gritty, but when it comes down to it we tend to default to just wearing black.
Izzy: And what do you have planned after your LP drops? Anything you’re especially excited for?
New Myths: After the LP drops, we’re probably most excited to do some traveling in support of the album. It’s always a blast to get out in front of new audiences. We’re also working on a video for our single “Howl” now.
