Schande - Once Around

Throughout the past several months, the band, fronted by Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble member Jen Chochinov, has shared a trio of singles showcasing the band’s melodically angular approach to songwriting — searing and calm in equal measures, reminiscent yet distinctive. The most recent outing was the hard-charging “We’re Not Twins,” which acts as a bridge between the poignant and restrained guitar ambience of “Relevant Campaigns,” and its cascading, fuzzed out foil “52 hz.” 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. 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.”