There’s a scene early on in Twin Peaks’ infamous Showtime reboot in which five would-be carjackers are engulfed in flames when their petty crime intersects with a larger, more sinister conspiracy. As the crowbar-wielding teens break the booby-trapped car’s locks, a harsh cut of Industrial Garage Punk pours out from the stereo of their own car — a foreboding sign of the immolation to come.
Skip to the episode’s credits and you’ll find that the song is titled “Tabloid,” the opening cut off of Uniform’s 2017 LP, Wake In Fright. Though jarring on its own, the track fits seamlessly into the show’s Lynchian atmosphere: sometimes moody, sometimes volatile, always eccentric.
Since then, the New York City duo has begun rolling out its second LP, The Long Walk via Sacred Bones, inspired by the Stephen King novel of the same name in which a totalitarian regime forces teenagers to participate in a life-or-death walking contest. It’s an appropriate title for a record that — based on the five minutes of material available for streaming so far — sounds like lungs straining to take their next breath. Lead single “The Walk” is a mechanized Goth number, grinding like the rusted gears of a device that converts oxygen to fuzz and distortion.
In a press release regarding the upcoming release, vocalist Michael Berdan said that the King novel perfectly encapsulated his feelings toward organized religion and capitalism. “It is one of the most cynical stories I’ve ever read and speaks volumes to many of the ugliest parts of the human condition,” he said.
The Long Walk won’t come out until Aug. 17, but you can still get a taste of what Uniform’s been up to lately thanks to their recent collaborative release with The Body, titled Come and See.
More info here.
