
FACS
Wish Defense
Sixth studio album from the Chicago trio. Features newly-rejoined original member Jonathan Van Herik. Recorded at Electrical Audio May 6 and 7, 2024 - final album recorded by Steve Albini.
The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, and Carpenter. Who is your “true self” and what do they want? With their sixth studio album Wish Defense (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves.
The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album Negative Houses was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor and a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure and his previous time with Case and powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time.
Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “...don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to Negative Houses art, returning to that album’s black and white starkness and minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open.
A final note; Wish Defense is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer and friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.
For fans of Unwound, MBV, The Jesus Lizard, SUUNS, Preoccupations, METZ, Les Rallizes Denudes, The Dead C, Echo and The Bunnymen, Liars, This Heat, PIL.
Delivery
We currently only deliver to the UK. Delivery costs are clearly provided at the checkout at the time of purchase. We offer free delivery when spending over £60 in one transaction.
Royal Mail First Class (order value below £60) | £2.95 |
Royal Mail First Class (order value above £60) | FREE |
To qualify for free delivery please expect all your items to be delivered in one package i.e if you have ordered a 'pre-order' item please expect to wait until all your items are available before any are delivered.
We send our packages via Royal Mail. While we endeavour to get your purchase to you as quickly as possible, once it has left our depot it is out of our hands and we cannot be held responsible for any packages arriving later than expected.
Packaging
All our items are packaged in good quality cardboard packaging which should prevent any damage during transit. Please kindly note that any clingfilm or shrink wrap around the item is not considered part of the product.
Returns
If you decide that a product is not suitable within 30 days of delivery, you can return it to us at your own cost for a replacement or refund. Returns must be unused and in their original, undamaged packaging. Return address information will be included with your purchase.
If a product is damaged please get in touch so we can resolve it quickly for you.
Refunds
Refunds will be issues to the card that was used to purchase the item.
Refunds for returned items will be issued once the item has been received and checked.
Undelivered Packages
If a package is returned to us due to an incorrect address being supplied or because it was not collected from a local depot, an additional postage fee will be payable in order to resend. We will contact you to arrange this before anything is resent.