Calder Valley trio Callis release their debut EP Sex Yoga on 2 February. It’s produced by Gordon Raphael, who worked on The Strokes albums Is This It and Room on Fire. Speaking in the EP’s promo video, Raphael shared the following:
“This is awesome music. It reminds me of early Seattle grunge in a way, which is something I grew up with and so I wanted to get involved … I think after these recording sessions, Callis is going to go from Todmorden to the moon. Everybody’s gonna know about it.”
Sex Yoga opens with ‘Lemonade Renegade‘, an ode to the 90’s grunge scene. It ebbs and flows with its shifting soundscapes, heavy one minute and sharp crisp guitar riffs the next. As it heads to its outro ‘Lemonade Renegade‘ whirls into a psychedelic spinning wheel of sound. Thematically the track considers the overthinking that we do about ourselves, both positive and negative. Rumination is ever constant in the modern world, perhaps not helped by the likes of social media.
‘Greenish Meat‘ is full of off kilter moments, and echoey vocals. The skiffle guitars and drums give way to more placid moments full of contemplation. Lyrically ‘Greenish Meat’ considers the all pervasive ignorance towards the ethics of meat production. The band share the following on the inspiration behind the track: “The idea of being blissfully unaware of the morality behind eating meat. I feel like there were no rules in the creation of this song.”
Callis demonstrate on Sex Yoga that they take inspiration from all quarters. ‘Godfrey’ is a story about retired policeman, Alan Godfrey, who reported an unidentified flying object over West Yorkshire in 1980. It’s a slightly heavier track with a touch of that psychedelic vibe again which seems to warp back and forth. The slightly distorted vocal combination is so effective and adds another layer to the sound. The oscillated pedals in the outro created the extra-terrestrial effect and Raphael also added in the warped radio messages, using his own voice.
The EP closes with the first single, ‘Dream Sequence’ . The track was influenced by bands such as Bauhaus, The Cure and New Order and the listener can clearly hear this with the opening few bars. The opening bassline is exquisite. ‘Dream Sequence’ was written around the same time as ‘Lemonade Renegade‘, and references the mind drifting off to better places when things turn sour. As it travels the track becomes slightly more hazy in its combination of sounds in the chorus, replicating our dream state. The sonic landscape dominates in the outro. The blend of guitar, bass and drums combining to a rhythm which caters along until its crisp, tight end.
For more information on Callis please check out their facebook and instagram.
