“No Prize” began life as a Google search. “We found the trashy drum loop by searching ‘post punk drum loop 150 bpm.’ Then we added my dubby, repetitive bass line,” says Surface Wound’s Sandy Smallens.
From there, Steve Hamilton turned to his “battalion of homemade pedals” for the guitar line that forms the Wire-y, angular spine of the first focus track from Futility (People Suck Music), out November 7.
“It’s kind of weird that it took us two years to finish this album, because just about every track was done in a ‘first thought, best thought’ style,” says Smallens. “We had ProTools running whenever we jammed to capture the first sounds that came to mind, without stopping to second-guess ourselves.”
Futility serves as the latest recorded evidence that Smallens has more going on these days than his decades-long on-and-off stint with college-rock darlings Too Much Joy. It’s also worth noting that TMJ’s founding drummer, Tommy Vinton, is an integral part of Surface Wound.
“When Tommy replaced the drum loop that inspired ‘No Prize,’ he concocted a beat that would slot in nicely at a punky reggae dance party on a Tuesday night at Danceteria in the early ’80s,” says Smallens. “Lyrically, the plaintive guitar wailing inspired a meditation on the state of the world and our ability to influence it in any way. Outlook: not promising.”
We’re proud to premiere Surface Wound’s “No Prize.”
—Hobart Rowland
