Six short months after the band’s inception, the Brooklyn-based glitter-grunge quartet debuts their first (super) single
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I first caught Climates in mid-December at—where else?!—Our Wicked Lady, where the band appeared as part of a lineup featuring some serious Brooklyn (+BdBK) faves, including Atlas Engine and Shadow Monster.
Despite missing a member due to that signature NYC winter sickness—the one that temporarily disables nearly every resident at some point throughout the season, leaving one barely able to make the trek from bed to bodega, let alone take the stage to play a show—the band members rearranged themselves, switching it up then serving up one hell of a performance to a very packed room—
A feat that felt even more impressive if you were privy to two pretty significant pieces of information: At that point, Climates had only been a band for four months—and that was their first show.
After forming in August in what bassist and vocalist Theadora Curtis calls a
“natural, unexpected way,” Climates—at that point, a three-piece—played their first song together live, covering Phoebe Bridgers’ “Motion Sickness” at one of Theadora’s solo shows. Since then, the band has gained a lead guitarist, played in both BK and Manhattan (plus, come next month and SXSW, Austin) and—as of this very moment—released their first single: a track entitled “Super 8,” which I’m both very extremely stoked and very proud to premiere here.
“Super 8″—named for Super 8mm cameras, a reference to great cinema— feels at once soft and rough, hitting a sonic sweet spot and perfectly exemplifying Climates’ self-dubbed “Glitter Grunge” sound—a thought I had before Theadora told me the song and genre were products of the same process.
“We came up with the genre ‘Glitter Grunge’ while recording this song,” she explained over email, “and the line ‘picture this in glitter and smoke’ touches on the idea of making things that are genuine and raw but also embracing that element of movie magic to make something more affecting versus obscuring it.”
Beyond serving up “Super 8” and recommending it for a permanent, prominent spot on your favorites playlist, I’m pleased to provide insider info courtesy of Theadora, who offered more valuable insight into the meaning of the song:
“’Super 8′ is about the moments when people say, ‘This is a movie.’ I think when we feel alive and aren’t moving on autopilot things get a lot more cinematic. It’s also celebrating the hero’s journey, the ups and downs. In films we not only accept but expect the conflict and obstacles as vital parts of a story and elements that give everything else meaning, but in life not as much. So it’s the idea of looking at things through that lens, literally. The verse holds more tension and then the chorus kind of releases it. The storms and the sunshine, it’s all beautiful—it’s ‘Super 8.'”
While I might be prone to some embellishment sometimes, it’s safe to say I’ve hit play on “Super 8” more than a dozen times today alone—and I’m digging it even more with each listen.
Stream/save/share(!) “Super 8” ASAP and then prepare yourself to fall completely in love with Climates—
I certainly have.
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Climates is Theadora Curtis (vocals, bass), Molly Schoen (lead guitar), Natalie Lew (rhythm guitar) and Keira Zhou (drums).
“Super 8” was brought to life by Digo Best (producer, mixing engineer) and Jennica Best (mastering engineer)—both of beloved NYC garage-pop band Colatura—at Tessatura Studio.
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Follow Climates on Instagram at @climatesband , add “Super 8” to your playlists! Plus, catch the band on 3/1 at Union Pool (their single release show!) and in Austin on 3/20 at Electric Church during SXSW!
Feature image (provided by the band): Francis McNeill
Album art: Photo by Keira Zhou, design by Theadora Curtis