I tend to associate Sacred Bones Records with spare, cold
post-punk/electronic/noise — Pharmakon, Vår, Lust For Youth, Cult Of
Youth … even Zola Jesus, really — but Arizona’s Destruction Unit don’t
quite fit that description, even though they do fit pretty nicely on the
Sacred Bones roster. Destruction Unit are basically a roots-based rock
band whose hook-heavy psychedelic songs are delivered through terrifying
feedback squalls and (presumably) several dozen cheap/broken effects
pedals. Their closest Sacred Bones analogue is probably the Men, which
especially makes sense, as Destruction Unit’s forthcoming Sacred Bones
debut,
Deep Trip (which follows a handful of limited-run
releases), was recorded and mastered by a bunch of dudes also associated
with the Men, including that band’s bassist/vocalist, Ben Greenberg,
and their longtime engineers, Kyle Keays-Hagerman and Josh Bonati, along
with Kris Lapke of Hospital Productions (at least half of whose output
seems suited to Sacred Bones, too). Right now, Destruction Unit are out
on tour with Milk Music and Merchandise, which is a pretty incredible
bill, one of those things you’ll probably be bragging about having
attended (or wishing you had attended) in two or three years. Also prior
to the release of
Deep Trip, Destruction Unit will drop a 7″ via the Suicide Squeeze Records Singles Series, called
Two Strong Hits.
That record’s A-side, “Sonic Pearl,” has been paired with a video,
which we’ve got for you today. Not much happens in the “Sonic Pearl”
clip: A bunch of dudes wander around the wilderness, barely visible
through the warped-VHS-quality video and the blinding sun on the
horizon. But the visual component strongly reflects Destruction Unit’s
sound.