PREMIERE | Space Cubs, "Sideways"
The Space Cubs trio of Suzanne, Shawn and Adam; photographed by Jonathan Sherman and Rianne Farris of Ancient Kind.
Buffalo’s provocateurs of aesthetic noise Space Cubs announce their upcoming album The 4th Age with the world premiere of the sky splitting single “Sideways”. Comprised of Suzanne Bonifacio, Shawn Lewis of Lesionread alongside Frenchpressley’s Adam Pressley; the triumvirate readies their latest cycle of convention searing sounds and a batch of upcoming east coast and Midwest tour dates TBD for summer 2019.
“Sideways” showcases Space Cubs breaking through the layers of galaxies before crash landing on the surface of earth. The track experiments with barely containable components of unbridled dissonance, organizing them in an array of aesthetically charged discontent and an orchestrated disarray of angst, anger, fury and frustration that moves like a rocket of rage in accelerated patterns and cinematic sequences. Space Cubs have created a work steeped in throwback 90s analogue electric core that is informed by the untethered ambition and drive of today’s echelon of artistry that is painted in the relevance of immediacy. The Cubs’ track “Sideways” simulates the feel of taking over the controls of a Space X vessel with the destination dials set for the outer dimensions — and then what comes next as the craft comes hurdling back down to the pale blue dot.
Suzanne Bonifacio of Space Cubs shared the following exclusive and candid insights about the inception and materialization of “Sideways”:
I don’t want to interpret “Sideways” for anyone else because I believe in the listener bringing the song to life in their own personal way, but I will explain how the process was for me. Initially it produced a lot of high-strung emotions because of where I came into it. When I used to work alone, I rarely made any tracks that felt sonically harsh in this way. So it was a real pleasure to work on and almost felt like it knew where it was going on its own, that we were just making it a reality. I didn’t start bringing in and organizing my parts until after Shawn’s beats and Adam’s guitar were already very present and spawning my feelings. As they were cycling, my first reaction was not simply anger, but a desperate sort of anger. What’s interesting about anger is that it’s usually attached to blame and while there was a lot of initial blame happening, for me, the feelings sort of evolved into a larger picture where not only anger was present, but confusion, desperation, a sort of question. These feelings were related to the thirst for power, money, greed, and exploiting others to get what you want. And you’re psyched out and you’re tripping and I wonder what I am. I’m made of something and it’s the same thing that you are too. So, because we are made of the same things, we ought to be encouraging extending things like generosity, compassion, empathy and helping others. Ultimately, I start to question my own identity and the way I also treat others. And while you use it up, we’ll be yelling here till you hear us dragging our heavy hearts behind.
—Suzanne Bonifacio of Space Cubs
Listen to more from Space Cubs via Spotify.