Capturing our attention earlier this year with the sparse textures and fractured melancholia of their debut track ‘bj.sadsong’, duo TEME return with the exquisite ‘HELL’S MOUTH’ accompanied by a self-directed video. ‘HELL’S MOUTH’ shifts from elegant soulful vocals and subtle pulsing sounds, into a dynamic, crashing mini pop epic backlit by synths and searing guitar licks, it reflects the intensity of loss and clarity of seclusion. You could cite the more experimental later work of Bon Iver or Talk Talk‘s minimalist pop, as comparisons but given the two tracks I’ve heard so far TEME are something potentially very special. Their sparse instrumentation allied to piercing vocal quality that runs the gamut of the human condition, it’s utterly transfixing. Hold tight and press play.
They say ‘HELL’S MOUTH’ was written ‘during the quietest moments of introspection, trying to understand vital moments which took place within a turbulent relationship. Located near the village of Rhiw, North Wales, the bay of Hell’s Mouth provides a suitable backdrop to a period spent living on the edge of a mountain, where the intensity of a time shut away together, and the surroundings, aligned as one.’
The video begins with flashes of Morse code accompanying the vocals. As the track expands, the images interpreting memories become vivid and lucid, the primitive dots transforming into full lyrics, and after into symbols.
