Ahead of the release of the new album — “about being in a constant state of limbo and solitude” — Gillian Visco of the grunge-pop project pulls tarot cards for each of the record’s eight tracks

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Humans aren’t historically comfortable with what we can’t explain or classify. That’s why we invented religion. And the literal label-maker.

But despite our desperate need for definition, few things are totally wrong or right, black and white. Even our brains are grey matter. And between different poles of perspective, above a plane of our experiences, we float along with our feelings: in the mushy, muddled middle of it all.

This is the personally universal, or perhaps universally personal, space where the new album from Brooklyn grunge-pop project Shadow Monster exists: in the in-between. It’s a feelings-forward record representative of the living limbo that is life and grappling with the multitudes, and the contradictions, that we as people contain as we wrestle with love and with loss—

Because while shadows are typically associated with darkness, they wouldn’t exist without light.

A day ahead of its wide release via Substitute Scene Records, I’m stoked to share the new album from Gillian Visco and her longtime drummer and musical collaborator John Swanson.

This is DOG.

“DOG is an album about being in a constant state of limbo and solitude,” Gillian shares of Shadow Monster’s new album. “It vacillates in perspective from the lens of the loyal companion, to one of the untamed beast. It lives in the space between death and life – darkness and light – monster and human. DOG flirts with delusion, boasting of love stories where they never existed. It hopes and pines like a hermit, hunting for that thing it has been missing – keeping a firm grasp on a dim torch of hope.”

While Gillian has stayed busy as an artist — playing and writing in projects including THICK and Ouster Nash — recently Shadow Monster has, like the mysterious creature of Loch Ness, only popped up for occasional sightings before diving back down into the depths (which, by the way, is where DIY records are made). Now, after we’ve all been hearing and head-banging to these songs live for years, the album’s long-awaited release is a gift to both the band’s fans and friends, who through Gillian’s art are gaining access to her heart via seven songs and a loving finale featuring a very special collaborator: her late father.

In the spirit of defying definition, rather than share a few thoughts on each of DOG‘s tracks, Gillian instead opted to get a little witchy with it, taking a more occult approach to a track-by-track and allowing the audience to listen to the songs and make their own meaning.

“I decided to choose Tarot Cards to offer insight into each track on the album since I like leaving the majority of interpretation up to the listener,” the artist says. “I find Tarot a creative and engaging way to spark conversation to bridge the gap between our personal journeys and our collective experience as humans. These cards and keywords are from the Linestrider’s Journey Tarot Deck by Siolo Thompson. The positioning and order of the cards are intentional.”

DOG  —TAROT BY TRACK:

I. “Loser: A Resignation” 

“And though my hopes are so high– I go out and they get heavy.”

3 of SWORDS – heartbreak, depression, past injury, separation

THE HERMIT – introspection, inward focus, isolation, withdrawal

4 of CUPS – apathy, denial, moodiness, lack of bigger picture vision, dissatisfied

II. “Poison: A Query“

“In this town a smile is just some game / I don’t know who my heroes are / or pain from pleasure”

THE DEVIL – illusion, temptation, lust, self-bondage, harmful attachments, addiction

THE HANGED MAN – crossroads, turning point, discernment, suspension, limbo

III.  “Unravel You: A Love Song”

“Damn you just caught me starin’ in your eyes / Why do I do this everytime”

WHEEL OF FORTUNE – chance, change in fortune, optimism, new beginnings

ACE OF CUPS – new opportunities, new love, spiritual awakening

THE STAR – renewal, abundance, recovery, hope, personal transformation 

7 of CUPS – illusions, fantasy, unreal expectations, delusions

IV. “Dog: A Surrender”

“Don’t leave me waiting wonderin’ where you been / Don’t disappoint me darlin’ like every other man  / Cuz you already have my heart”

ACE of SWORDS – truth, clarity of vision, deceit, self-delusion

THE MOON – deception, illusion, fear, intuition, uncertainty

THE MAGICIAN – when paired with THE MOON, someone may be seeking to confuse, use, or deceive you

V. “Eyes In My Sleep: A Spell”

“Come here and sit next to me / Cuz I made a cemetery of all the past loves that I’ve buried / And now you can lay beside me”

8 of SWORDS – isolation, self imposed suffering, denial, refusal to face the truth about something

2 of SWORDS REVERSED – lies, betrayal, not fully informed, warning, manipulation

10 of SWORDS – endings, hurt, disappointment, failure

VI. “Goodwill: An Elegy”

“Life just moves on and all your shoes are at Goodwill.”

THE TOWER – disruption, upheaval, catastrophe, lack of control

DEATH – change, transformation, endings, loss

10 of SWORDS REVERSED – harsh or painful end of a cycle, loss of a loved one, an end you are reluctant to face

VII. “Here Then Gone: An Afterlife”

“Scared of every little thing when it all keeps happening.”

5 of CUPS REVERSED – grief, loss, profound despair, acceptance

THE WORLD – completion, final card in the major arcana, 

8 of CUPS – moving on, new journeys, transition, leaving things behind, emotional burden

VIII. “A Very Goodnight”

A bonus track of my Dad.

<3

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Art isn’t science. It doesn’t seek to explain our existence, but to bypass fact for feeling and give a sensory shape to the mystery of it all. And while this record might be about solitude, in making it, Shadow Monster is helping us all feel a little less alone. And that’s something worth celebrating together.

DOG is out everywhere tomorrow! (That’s April 4th.) Mark your cal to commemorate the album’s glorious physical form at the vinyl-release show with The Big Easy, Palomino (NJ), Genuine Connection — April 23rd at The Broadway.

>>> GRAB YOUR TIX HERE! <<<

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Follow Shadow Monster at @shadowmonster, buy music on Bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists! 

Feature image (provided by the band): Jason Lee