Selections: SCALER

Bristol outfit SCALER are back with another collision of electronic and live guitar music on their new record, ‘Endlessly’, landing next month via Black Acre Records. Written and recorded over three years in a studio beneath legendary Bristol venue The Louisiana, the album reflects on time spent apart and the power of reconnection through configurations of scorched techno, trip-hop, metal and off-kilter electronica, brushed with a sweaty, basement sheen. “A lot of the electronic sounds were blasted out into the basement, with Isaac’s brother [Joe Jones] helping out engineering,” guitarist Nick Berthoud shared. “So there’s a literal, physical space that the record inhabits to tie it together. It’s subtle in moments, but it’s on every single track.”

The scene-straddling four-piece, formerly known as SCALPING, have been rising up through the ranks thanks to their all-tabs-open approach to production and the thumping intensity of their live sets, which have taken them everywhere from Glastonbury’s Shangri-La to a packed-out headline slot at alt favourite, ArcTanGent. Across ten new tracks, the group – consisting of members Alex Hill, Isaac Jones, James Rushforth and Nick Berthoud, alongside visual artist Jason Baker – detach themselves from dominant dancefloor narratives in order to organically and tangibly experiment with sound. Opener ‘quiet when it speaks’ is a nightmarish lullaby cooked up from clattering rhythms, abstract club sonics and rib-rattling kicks, while moody mid-tempo breaks dissolve under sizzling guitar distortion on mid-album melters, ‘(yearn)’ and ‘Sinking In’. Elsewhere, the album veers into pockets of drum & bass, drone and even nu-metal, whilst somehow avoiding feeling disjointed or derivative for even a second.

In recent years, SCALER have been spurred on by the genre-bending antics of one Daniel Avery, who produced the band’s 2023 double A-side single, ‘Loam /New Symbols’. This was followed up by a series of remixes from fellow boundary-pusher’s Laurel Halo, Mogwai, Bruce and Azu Tiwaline, hooked in by the band’s distortion-forward take on dance music. In their entry to our Selections series, SCALER’s bassist James Rushforth offers a glimpse into the outfit’s eclectic pool of influences, from twisted drum experiments and dirgy dub blueprints to strobing synth-pop, hi-def house and beyond. Dive in below.

SCALER’s new album ‘Endlessly’ is out 26th September via Black Acre Records. You can pre-order the LP via Bandcamp here.