Has it really been five years since the second album by the great Ukrainian Post-Punk band ПРЕДСМЕРТНАЯ КАДРИЛЬ, who have Anglicized their name now to Quadrille [formerly Dying Quadrille] and are now signed to the Polish Goth/Darkwave label Bat-Cave Productions. This means that the new album will be getting a physical release on CD. Bat-Cave is releasing the album on April 15, 2022 and in a switch, the band will no longer be selling the DL in Bandcamp. Buyers of the album will get DL codes for the album from the label instead.
Quadrille: Arrogance – POL – CD [2022]
- Otsepeneniye I Strakh
- V Petle
- Goret’ Krasivo
- Ya Budu Letat’
- S Rozoy Vo Rtu
- Posle Vas
- Glupost’
- Pokoy
- Taynyy Zamysel
The pounding, driving urgency of “Otsepeneiye | Strakh” showed that the band were moving our of their early period with the Chameleons influence giving was to something deeper and darker. I was getting the whiff of High Banshees era here. and the next track, “V Petle,” give us glorious ringing shards of McGeoch-styled guitar. The deceptive “Goret’ Krasivo” began as a subdued song. Shadow-laden with deep bass pulling us into the deep waters before a tempo shifted upward, leading to a thrilling climax that unraveled into silence.
It was interesting to hear the bass having greater prominence in this music. “Ya Budu Letet'” had a viscous mix with great flanged guitar harmonics at the climax. “Posle Vas” shifted the needle into the Killing Joke zone with the tight, rhythmic focus of this song. And I can only approve.
The drums led on “Glupost'” and the cascading guitars had all of the impact of falling down a staircase. The vibe was dark and chaotic with a great vocal tiding this one all the way down. I really loved the monitor hum the left in the last few seconds here. The martial drums of “Pokoy” in the intro gave way to a faster tempo later in the song. Then ringing guitar melodies traded off with the monstrous bass with the song bifurcating at the halfway point to maintain a hammering tempo until the end. The closing “Taynyy Zamsel” was altogether slower, deeper, and darker than the preceding eight songs. Providing a heart rending emotional climax to the album that came in with an intensity but went out with a more reflective, contemplative air.
This album was showing that the way forward for this band was to stick with their guitar/bass/drums instrumentation. I still don’t hear any synths here, and if anything, they have darkened their coloration to move away from the melancholy Chameleons sound, to a darker Banshees vibe, with lots of John McGeoch influence in the choices of guitarist Igor. Even so, I can feel the dark pull of Killing Joke moving into the foreground for this band.
Given that the Kyiv-based band has had their city and nation under attack by Russian forces for the last 34 days, I will be expecting their fourth album to be possibly a recording that could leave even Killing Joke’s finest very much in the shade. I dearly hope that they get to record it. But for now, we have “Arrogance” to absorb. Hit that button to pre-order.
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Post-Punk Monk 