Atlanta-based imprint Skeleton Realm has been consistently giving their seal of approval to Breathers, a group of art punks formed from the genius song-craft of pop-auteur T. Lee Gunselman, alongside Mike Netland and Jake Thomson. Their debut EP “Transitions” was a triumph of Japanophile, Sakamoto-style 80s synth fetish; yet, they transcended the creative limitations of purist nostalgia through the sheer presence of inspired songwriting, design, and a steady stream of fantastic videos.
Their new cassingle “Colored Lines” forgoes their characteristically non sequitur tendencies to comment on the current state of Atlanta’s metro transit authority — specifically “the oppression of vehicular commuterism, and how historic racist and classist mindsets of the south have kept the MARTA into developing into something that benefits all denizens of a metropolitan area.” The track itself morphs a synth-bounce into an iconoclastic protest song against the powers-that-be. Lee calls out against the will to “privatize,” following it smoothly into a gliding “no downtown” motif that rails against southern dystopic sprawl. The hypnogogia of their earlier work is hardened into dissent, highlighting flavors of resistance that previously existed in their against-the-grain eccentricity.
Breathers is on tour with Reptar throughout the fall.
• Breathers: http://breathers.bandcamp.com
• Skeleton Realm: http://skeletonrealm.com
More about: Breathers
