Schande Unleash 'Palimpsest' Single Ahead of Debut LP

UK-based noise rock outfit Schande will release their debut LP Once Around on September 27 via The Daydream Library Series, the house record label of Ecstatic Peace Library operated by Thurston & Eva Moore. Now, the band, fronted by Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble member Jen Chochinov, has shared the single “Palimpsest” as another sneak peek ahead of the album’s release next month. A love letter to Siouxsie & the Banshees’ Kaleidoscope, the track barrels forward like a freight train, full of thrashing guitars threatening to careen off the tracks, but held down by Gio Villaraut’s driving bass playing and Ryan Grieve’s pummeling drumwork, as Chochinov’s vocals float freely above the chaos below. 
 
“I can’t help but hear the Siouxsie influence every time we play the song. Plus, let’s be honest, ‘palimpsest’ is just a great word,” Chochinov says. “I used a tuning I learned from my friend Darren who I had a recording project with years ago, forgot about it, and then when I started playing around with a 12 string guitar Thurston lent me it all came flooding back, like ‘oh yeaaaaaah. I wonder how this guitar would sound in that tuning?’ As it turns out, ‘rad’ is the answer to that question — just really dynamic and expansive and effortlessly creates a prismatic life of its own. Lyrically, the song reflects on patterns of behaviors that leave room for improvement.”

Inspired by the works of writers such as Hannah Arendt and Adriana Cavarero, Once Around focuses on notions of personal existence and subjectivity. As Chochinov puts it, the record consists of “contemplations on the ways in which we do and do not disclose ourselves to each other, our responsibilities towards ourselves and others, and the ways we do or do not acknowledge the experiences of others.” Mirrored by the band’s collaborative musical process (Chochinov writes the lyrics to instrumentals formed out of jams and group revision), the album aims to explore the ways in which even the most personal journeys depend on others, something the band of expats — Chochinov is from the US, drummer Ryan Grieve hails from Canada, and bassist Gio Villaraut is from Italy — navigate daily as they establish and reinvent themselves in their adoptive home of the UK.
 
“Palimpsest” is another showcase — following previous singles“We’re Not Twins,” “Relevant Campaigns,” and “52 hz” — for how Schande’s current sound was shaped by Chochinov’s stint playing in the Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble. On the heels of playing with the group, Chochinov started experimenting with alternative tunings, including those she learned from Thurston himself. The freedom offered by new tunings gave the band a chance to approach songs and song writing in a new way. “It was like being given free reign in a science lab where nothing was off limits. At worst you create an awful sound and at best you get the chance to surprise yourself and land on something exciting.” 
 
The California-born Chochinov has been crafting catchy, propulsive rock in DIY circles since the early 1990s. Solo and full band adventures throughout the years have included a split 7” with The Cribs and James Murphy’s pre-LCD Soundsystem group Speedking, playing the legendary Indie Tracks festival (UK), and playing Happy Happy Birthday to Me's Athens Pop Festival (US). Since relocating to London in 2013, she has continued playing shows throughout the UK and US both solo and with her full band. In 2018 and 2019, she was a touring member of Thurston Moore’s Guitar Ensemble and played shows throughout the UK and Europe alongside James Sedwards (Nøught, Thurston Moore Group), Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine, Thurston Moore Group), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Jem Doulton (Thurston Moore Group, The Oscillation), and Jonathan Leideker (Wobbly). 
 
The Daydream Library Series independent record label just celebrated five years in operation. Thurston & Eva founded the label in 2018 to release the debut album Sistahs by London’s black, feminist, punk band Big Joanie and have since released recordings by Xopher Davidson, Seafoam Walls, Devon Ross, Katherina Bornefeld, Las Nubes and others.

Schande Live Dates:

Sept. 26        London, UK @ TBD
Oct. 19          Exeter, UK @ Exeter Cavern 
Nov. 21         London, UK @ Cavendish Arms w/ BA Johnson & Panic Pocket
Jan. 25         Gloucester, UK @ TBD         

Once Around Tracklist:

1. Derek
2. Palimpsest
3. Apogee
4. Gregor MacGregor
5. Relevant Campaigns
6. Double Hackner
7. We’re Not Twins
8. 52 hz
9. Last Horse

Photo credit: Carl Farrugia (c.o. The Daydream Library Series)