"Her Stems Spiral is an experimental solo project created by Johannesburg/Cape Town-based non-binary musician and composer Shannon Lawlor (they/them) to escape conventional songwriting and structure. Obsessed and hellbent on blending together genres and sounds akin to post-rock, math-rock, shoegaze, ambient, mathcore and abstract influence- Her Stems Spiral embraces change and contrast with each output."
The past few months have been a very productive release period for Shannon. While enduring hard times, change, and lost recordings they have still managed two solo releases, under their moniker Her Stems Spiral, in quick succession. After years of patience we now have the new Hallucination Christmas LP and Lights Drip II EP. Both new releases are very ghostly. The LP is suffused with haunting vocals while the EP envelops the listener in a trio of angular and atmospheric instrumental tracks.
by Her Stems Spiral (released October 31, 2020)
"Appropriately released on the eve of Halloween, 'HALLUCINATION CHRISTMAS' is the debut full length LP by South African experimental post-rock artist Her Stems Spiral. Compiled and recorded over a 3 year period, the album was initially shelved for quite some time due to a devastating harddrive failure containing all tracks, stems and demos, with the addition of various lost tracks never to be recovered. Luckily, after the resurrection of thirteen unfinished demo tracks, 'HALLUCINATION CHRISTMAS' finally gets to see the light of day. Unavoidably heading towards a lo-fi aesthetic; this could arguably be considered some of Her Stems Spiral's most reflective work to date; blending together post-rock, math-rock, electronica, shoegaze, metal, glitch, noise and a plethora of experimental jargon.
Due to the unavailability of the original album files, unfortunately there was no room for final mix, monitoring, extensive editing, mastering and most importantly - vocal retakes. This vulnerable and undeniably raw body of work encompasses the turmoil and frustration surrounding the "what could have beens" - alas, it is what it is, and that's alright.
They say that the closing of one door leads to the keys of many, and that will certainly show in future as evolution inevitably takes hold."
by Her Stems Spiral (released January 25, 2021)
"Following off from 2014's first entry into the realm of Her Stems Spiral's gleaming 'Lights Drip' EP series, the second installment is in no way a departure of the intended sound, but is most definitely an ambitious delve into the forays of progression. Flowing with crushing post-rock, wall-of-sound shoegaze sections and of course, jittery math-rock flares - 'Lights Drip II' also manages to breathe new.. well, light (for lack of a better term) into the series as a whole. Now weaving between swirling synth melodies, unnerving metal and noisy nods proceeding 2020's experimental-whirlwind of a debut LP, "HALLUCINATION CHRISTMAS", at this point it's always kinda uncertain where Her Stems Spiral will go next - but we only can assume things can get weirder."
On a side note: Some lyrics on HALLUCINATION CHRISTMAS are pulled from notes within the game Silent Hill
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