Basil's Kite, Australian mathcore band, release album via Dark Trail Records, share lyric video

Australian mathcore band Basil's Kite has recently released a new single entitled "Seagull." The song comes alongside the release of their latest album, Shooting Tsars, which dropped on March 24 via Dark Trail Records.

The single was released with a music video via Mathcore Index. According to the band's founding member, Jack Tickner, "Seagull" is a deeply traumatic song about dealing with the guilt of hurting an animal as a child. He further added that the vocal performance by Jacob is particularly noteworthy.

Tickner had this to share on the album:

"This album is the culmination of 6 years of writing and many lineup changes. We had finished writing the album by 2019, however the covid pandemic meant that our producer and ex-guitarist Jonathon Tooke (Jono) was stuck in the most heavily locked down city in the world when we were meant to be recording. The drums were recorded in 2019 and the guitars and vocals were finished at the end of 2020 in between lockdowns, back in a house that Isaac and I used to share. During the height of the pandemic the mood was tense, on top of that it was a challenge to bring the vision of the album together, as we were (one of many) performing bands that had been completely shut down by covid. 

These songs demonstrate a distinct stylistic change in Basil's from math-rock with heavy elements, to heavy math with some lighter prog elements. This was particularly punctuated by our lineup change in late 2018 when we were joined by drummer Isaac Beggs, who brought a more aggressive sound to the fold. His dedication to the craft saw him transform the songs, learning our entire repertoire in the space of a month for an interstate tour. The fact that these songs were written 4-6 years ago, means that our relationship to them has changed over time. Though there's a lot of anger and resentment on this album that we don't carry anymore, we still enjoy playing and performing this music as a way to connect to our younger selves. Though Shooting Tsars was written in a more visceral manner than we write currently, we still enjoy performing these songs and are extremely pleased to share it with the world."

As Tickner explains, Basil's Kite has been in the making of Shooting Tsars for six years. The album features tight instrumentals, progressive and technical compositions, and biting socio-political commentary. The band's style is said to have evolved from math-rock with heavy elements to heavy math with some lighter prog elements.

Other singles from the album include "Castaway," "Bak Vark," and "Train Song," each exploring different themes with distinct musical approaches.