Photo by @bymarisvza
San Jose has released their latest single ‘The Bastards’, an ambitious eight-minute epic that retains interest with constantly shifting textures but a clear, cohesive and pointed mood, grappling with tension, urgency and crumbling democracy.
Theatrical, dramatic and fizzing with thoughtful post-punk examinations, the band bounces between grand sets of vocal harmonies and pained spoken-word. Steady drums and psychedelic guitars give way to vibrant melodies, then again to whistling synths and a thick bass tone. The political abrasiveness seems to rise from both soft folk moments and from angered, distorted guitars. All roads lead to this, the final minute spent at a huge climax, all elements in a perfect swirl of chaos with one another before the tempo falls away and fewer and fewer instruments hold on.
The band explain, “The Bastards is a ballad about sovereignty. It’s hard to write a song about anything else in today’s climate. Everyday some creeping dark cloud over democracy grows, seemingly stronger and more opaque. We’ve been trying to capture that cloud and distill that feeling for a while, and with The Bastards we feel we’ve come close.
Being Scottish, it seems being politically discontent is part of our very being, our genealogy even. This feeling is building amongst us, and you can tangibly feel it – we hope that The Bastards can be a light that shines upon that.
First released in 2023, a steady set of singles since has tipped San Jose as an exciting act. Their live shows have played a large part in that, with performance art, mini-orchestral arrangements and surrealist set-pieces falling into place at iconic Glasgow venues.
Listen here…
