We Owe (ChrisPravdica/Swans) Shares 'Major Inconvenience' LP

We Owe — the solo project of Brooklyn-based musician Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu, The Gunga Din, etc) — returns with the release of his sophomore LP, Major Inconvenience, out now via Montréal boutique label Mothland.

Major Inconvenience is aptly described by sole-member Christopher Pravdica (Swans, Xiu Xiu, The Gunga Din, etc.) as “post-alternative.” Informed by industrial, experimental music and avant-garde pop, this sophomore release from the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is genre-bending, musically elusive and lyrically confounding; an inventive strand of electronic music bordering anti-pop, synthpunk and post-rock.

Over 11 tracks à géométrie variable, Pravdica devises musical mazes where synthesizers abound, the line between drum machine and acoustic percussion is blurred, and guitar riffing is usually the affair of bulkier four-string models commonly referred to as bass guitars. Whether endorsing the act of wasting time, providing ludicrous dream interpretations or musing about a couple from Pompeii having sex at the base of an erupting volcano, the Brooklynite manages to induce complex emotions ranging from a perplexed frown all the way to a collusive grin.

We Owe's Major Inconvenience is self-produced, but also features timely contributions from longtime friends: Thor Harris (Swans, Xiu Xiu), Phil Puelo (Swans), and TRZTN. The full-length should please fans of Nine Inch Nails, Throbbing Gristle, or Björk.

"I don't believe in inspiration as much as I believe in determination," said Pravdica. "My mind is full of crap, and any number of random thoughts lead to ideas. What remains is just the determination to see them through. So basically, it's my entire life, and everything I've ever heard or seen or imagined, captured in one moment of determination. 

When writing for We Owe, I use the bass guitar a lot, usually many tracks at the same time. I mix drum samples and real percussion. I use synths up the wazoo, a smattering of guitar, and other instruments depending on the song.

As for collaborators, Thor [Harris] is my old pal. He and I have made a lot of music together, and traveled the world together in Swans and Xiu Xiu. TRZTN is my even older pal, with whom I've also made a lot of music, including with Services and Flux Information Sciences. We have also traveled the world together. My pal Phil [Puelo] is from the band Cop Shoot Cop, and we both played in Human Impact together, as well as with Swans."

Photo Credit: Phil Puelo