Casper Skulls has released a video for their single “Lingua Franca”. The track is of the bands new full-length Mercy Works, now out on Buzz Records.

“‘Lingua Franca’ by definition is a common language spoken between two people whose native languages are different. Communication is the cause of a lot of friction in relationships and often once the communication is lost so is the bond between people. I think when we were working on the song we wanted it to sound different depending on the listener. I think it can be heard as both a breakup song or a song about the grey areas in a relationship.”

“The video was directed by Benjamin Dabu at the end of the summer in Caledon, Ontario. The idea was based on classic crime duos in films like Thelma and Louise, Kit and Holly (Badlands), and Bonnie and Clyde. We wanted the video to represent a lot of the same emotions conveyed in the song, particularly focusing on a dysfunctional relationship where the couple enables one another. I like how in the video you don’t quite know what kind of crime the couple has committed which I think ties into the ambiguity of the lyrics.”

In support of the release the band will be on tour throughout November in North America, playing dates with Land of Talk, And The Kids, Charly Bliss, Partner, and Baked.

Casper Skulls’ Mercy Works was recorded in early 2017 with co-producer/engineer Josh Korody (Fucked Up, Dilly Dally), and mixed by Alex Newport (At The Drive-In, Death Cab For Cutie). While the rough and ready post-punk and lo-fi early ’90s indie influences present on the band’s first recordings still provide the foundation, there is a sense of scale on display in their swelling guitar figures and sweeping string arrangements (provided by Toronto musician Paul Erlichman) that is mirrored by the songwriting of dual lead vocalists Melanie St. Pierre and Neil Bednis. The real-life couple seek to represent lived experience in immense detail – engaging with a diverse palette of references, both musical and lyrical, to explore two intensely personal perspectives of emotional growth.

Bednis explains his inspiration behind the song “I Stared at ‘Moses and the Burning Bush’”, a song about the role of religion in his own experience of grief constructed around a reference to a painting by the ’80s pop artist Keith Haring:

“I like the idea of exploring biblical imagery without necessarily picking sides,” says Bednis. “It’s rationed throughout the songs what my stance is, if I even have a stance. I find that religion can be therapeutic when people in your life die. When my uncle passed away, I remember sitting in the pew having the idea for the song. That day I was really contemplating the role religion plays in grief and death. Keith Haring’s weird take on a biblical story also made me feel OK about diving into that realm. Religion doesn’t necessarily need to be a sacred thing.”

“It’s so exciting to make music when you can explore what you want to explore,” says Bednis. “Where we can go in terms of sound is endless. We’re big ambient music nuts so it’d be great to make an ambient record after this one, or an acoustic album. The goal is to be as freely creative as we can be as four people.”

“We’re really only at the start of being a band,” St-Pierre agrees. “Our records don’t have to move mountains as long as we’re being true to our own ideas. We want to be a slow burning candle.”

Casper Skulls
Mercy Works
Tracklist

1. Mercy Works
2. You Can Call Me Allocator
3. Lingua Franca
4. What’s That Good For
5. Primeval
6. Colour of the Outside
7. Chicane, OH
8. I Stared at “Moses and the Burning Bush”
9. The Science of Dichotomies
10. Glories
11. Faded Sound

Tour Dates
11/9 Chicago, IL – Audiotree Live Session
11/10 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR
11/11 Chicago, IL – Subterranean %
11/12 Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit
11/13 Washington, DC – Comet Ping Pong
11/14 Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
11/16 Brooklyn, NY – Alphaville ~
11/17 Montreal, QC – M for Montreal #
11/23 Montreal, QC – Phi Center ^
11/24 Ottawa, ON – The 27 Club ^
11/25 Toronto, ON – Great Hall ^
12/09 Toronto, ON – Rec Room ”

% w/ And The Kids
~ w/ Baked, Bueno
# w/ Shame
^ w/ Land of Talk
” w/ Charly Bliss