Pop Mutations & Freakender present:
Lorelle Meets The Obsolote
+ Special Guests
Monday 18th September
The Old Hairdresser's

Tickets available at https://www.citizenticket.co.uk/events/pop-mutations/

Mexican duo Lorelle Meets The Obsolete make a very welcome return
on June 16 with their sixth album, Datura. Recorded at their home studio
in Ensenada, Baja California, it was mixed in Canada by Jace Lasek of
The Besnard Lakes and mastered in Australia by Mikey Young of Eddy
Current Suppression Ring and Total Control, among many others.
It’s a short, sharp shock of a record with no unnecessary adornments
and no fat on any of its eight songs. Gone are the psychedelic wig-outs
found on previous releases, replaced with bass-heavy post-punk grooves
inspired by the roots of The Congos, the no wave of Ike Yard, the
industrial hip-hop of Dälek and the dark modular moves of Hiro Kone,
all while harnessing the elemental power of Jon Hassell’s Vernal Equinox. “One of the rules that we had when writing was to keep the songs
minimal in terms of instrumentation,” explains guitarist Alberto
González. “We didn’t want to do overdubs and endless layers this time
around,” adds singer and guitarist Lorena Quintanilla. “We limited
ourselves to the instrumentation of the new, four-piece line-up and we
recorded almost everything live. The songs had to be very solid.”
“We easily get bored with what we do, music-wise, so that motivates us
into keeping things fresh and different,” continues Alberto, as he explains
the change of direction. “Each album is a good representation of where
we are at. We fear the thought of being trapped in the same ideas from
years ago. There’s something about nostalgia that creeps me out.”
Strangely, it was nostalgia that inspired the change. The duo marked
their tenth anniversary in 2021 by playing reworked songs from their back
catalogue and sharing videos online. The new arrangements saw them
swapping between synths and guitars, and this – as well as Lorena’s two
acclaimed solo releases as J. Zunz – has informed the new set-up.
The live in the room feel of the album also came from watching The
Beatles do the same in Get Back. (One of a number of inspirations on the
album including the poetry of Mario Montalbetti, the TV series Atlanta, Eugenio Polgovsky’s documentaries and Arturo Ripstein’s movies).
Jace Lasek was the perfect person to bring this feeling to the fore.
“That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about The Besnard Lakes’
records,” says Alberto. “And I really think he brought that to Datura. The only note we gave him before the mix was ‘we want this album to
sound big and aggressive’.” It worked, that’s exactly how it sounds.
Not really surprising for a record that covers cultural colonialism, imperialism, conflicting opinions, intense emotions, strange dreams and
insomnia. The title refers to the genus of plants often associated with
ancient rituals that are also sometimes used as poison or hallucinogens.
“We liked the idea of a flower that opens at night,” says Lorena. “A type
of Datura grows all over the neighbourhood where we live. People try
to get rid of them because they are afraid of their dogs eating them, but
they always regrow again and again in the same places.”
A bit like Lorelle themselves, then. Datura is their fourth album for
Sonic Cathedral and their sixth overall. We last heard from them at the
start of 2020, when they followed the previous year’s acclaimed De Facto
with a new EP and set out on the road in the US, wending their way to
a slot at SXSW. History had other ideas, however, and they were left high
and dry in upstate New York, resorting to a Crowdfunder to enable them
to get home before lockdowns came into force. The band was paused.
“At some point in 2022 we decided it was time to write new music and everything flowed easily,” says Alberto. As life returned to normal they
played shows, firstly in Mexico and then, earlier this year, they finished
what they started three years ago and toured the US with SUUNS. Now, finally, they are set to flower once again with Datura, their most
direct and dynamic album to date; proof that nature really is healing.