Eclectic Melbourne duo Over-Reactor last graced our ears with 2014's Rugby League Is Crap, but the pairing of Ezekiel Ox and Cory Blight are set to return this July with new album Cocaine Headdress, and The Music is stoked to host the online premiere of the LP's first single, Backbone.
The tune is a hard-edged, synth-heavy journey laced with distorted guitar, technical but never ostentatious drum lines and snarling, aggressive vocals that richochet from fiercely spat rhythm to soaring melody at the drop of a hat.
Neither band member should be a stranger to avid music fans in this country, with vocalist/loops-man Ox having remained a constant presence through his own pursuits as well as those with Mammal, Superheist, The Nerve and Full Scale, while Blight (drums/samples) is known for his work with Dukes Of Windsor.
Both bring that copious experience to the wide-ranging sounds they offer as Over-Reactor, drawing on influences from hip hop and rock to grime, house and electro. They've cut their teeth together at live shows as both headliners and support for the likes of Karnivool, Cog, Floating Me, Front End Loader and more.
A lot of love and time went into this album, for which work began more than five years ago, following the release of predecessor effort Mouth Of The Ghetto (2012). The band produced it together, with Blight handling engineering, mixing and mastering through a process that sounds as though it was as demanding as it is sure to be rewarding on this end.
"Nothing we've ever done has taken this long, nor should it ever again," Blight said in a statement. "We took the entire process, studio and sound apart, then put it back together again several times to come to this musical conclusion. We trust that you will find it as satisfyingly disorienting as we do."
Cocaine Headdress will be released on Friday 7 July via Birds Robe Records. Preorders are available now, in two different compression rates. The band is set to unveil some tour plans in the near future to boot.
Preorders also nab you five bonus B-side tracks available exclusively as part of the package, plus a hard-copy zine for those of you who enjoy having a li'l something tangible to hold in those paws of yours.
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