The Vitals share their brand new single, “Deathcake”
Winnipeg, MB-based 4-piece outfit, The Vitals, unveiled their latest single, “Deathcake,” from their forthcoming five-track EP, Anesthetics.
Recorded and mixed pre-pandemic by J. Riley Hill (Mulligrub, Yes We Mystic) at Collector Studio, Anesthetics encapsulates an eerie vibe of impending doom, characteristic of our collectively ominous epoch.
Listen to “Deathcake” below and learn more about The Vitals via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
We are The Vitals from Winnipeg, Manitoba. With influences from post-punk, punk, noise rock, and “alternative”, we’re often compared to the likes of The Talking Heads, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division, The Replacements, and others.
Sean: Guitars, vocals, words, glasses, beer, single
Rob: Guitars, synth, no words, milk, married
Pat: Bass, sometimes words, height, sustenance in pill form only, taken
Jimmy: Drums, words in the background, hair, little height, scotch, married
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
Sean: Anesthetics is soaked in tears, dripping in sweat, clothed in blood, breathes nightmares, eats love, drinks you. It is a culmination of the early years of our magical bond.
Rob: Anesthetics is soaked in sweat, dripping in tears, clothed in nightmares, breathes love, eats you, drinks blood. This is the culmination of our magical relationship from the beginning times.
Pat: Anesthetics is soaked in blood, dripping in you, clothed in love, breathes tears, eats nightmares, drinks sweat. I consider it a culmination of the early years of our magical relationship.
Jimmy: Anesthetics combines words from the Bible, the Quran, the Torah, the Bhagavad Gita, The Book of Enoch, and the dictionary, into one singular opus. Words with meaning, mass, and weight. Words such as “the,” “soul,” “cheat,” “want,” and “again.” Words of importance. It utilizes resonance, melody, and tonality, all colliding like dulcet molecules to initiate the formation of beautifully structured hymnal canticles. Its rhythms pulsate synchronously with the collective heartbeat of our planet’s beings. It is a “coming together” of our magical bond constructed during our formative years.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
The tiny space that lies between the head of a flat nail and the grit of an asphalt roof shingle; the length of time and distance in space it takes for a bird’s tweet to reach you from across a pond; a Siren’s whisper, Poseidon’s breath, the divine wings of tragedy. The lies from the sea, the seventh wave, the strange village. Lost love, found love, church windows. The mother, the father, the serpent, the priest.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
Sean: I’m not sure, but Rob might know.
Rob: I don’t know, but Pat might have some insight into that.
Pat: I have no insight on that, but Jimmy might be privy.
Jimmy: I’m not privy to that info, but Sean might have knowledge on that.
Sean: Only time will tell…
*after some time has passed*
Covid definitely put a damper on gigging, as in, it just wasn’t happening. It put a damper on everything: jamming, writing, practicing, etc. We were so focused on finally getting Anesthetics out into the ear holes of our seven-plus fans. The past few months have seen us doing the jamming/writing/practicing thing, so we’re looking to get back on the gigging train soon.
In addition, we will be exhibiting our extensive Hummel figurine collection at the annual “Figurines, Crochet, and Bones” convention next spring in Des Moines, Iowa.*
*Unfortunately, The Vitals missed the deadline to book a display booth for the “Figurines, Crochet, and Bones” convention.
What’s your goal for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023?
We’re currently working on new material; I don’t think any of us want to wait another six years before releasing new music. Individually and collectively, we have many ideas we are excited about. Each of us is bringing many new things to the table – the table being our practices – trying some new directions, adding some new colours to our sound – colours that only the mantis shrimp can see. Looking at our next release, we’ll be taking a bit more time in the studio to get the finished product closer to what we are hearing in our heads…a more refined sound. As well, using the studio (No Fun Club) as an instrument in itself to broaden the music’s potential should add to it. And, of course, getting out and playing again is something we are excited about.
Simply, we are all really ‘hyped’ about making things happen again. There’s a lot of energy and excitement whenever we get together… borderline dangerous levels of excitement and hype, actually.
We had group bloodwork done (as we do at the commencement of every practice), and Dr. Pate, our band physician, is very concerned about our current levels of “stoke,” which, in his words, are “life threatening without significant and immediate lifestyle changes.” But we’re not gonna let some guy with a PFD let his doctor-words from all his book learning bring down our stoke-level. We’re coming with strong levels of hype and stoke – essentially getting two birds stoned at the same time.