Kevin Bronson on June 14th, 2022

0

There’s a lot of unpack on Queen Kwong’s forthcoming album, “Couples Only.” Since the band’s last full-length, 2018’s “Love Me to Death,” mastermind Carré Kwong Callaway was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis — the effects of which have given her some scares — and her marriage to Wes Borland ended in divorce.

The artist’s two albums and two EPs have been wild rides — her vocals, which range from snarling to waif-like, loosing emotional carnage over often-harsh guitars, heavy synths and feedback, delicate one song and doomy the next. That her creative process is stubbornly stream-of-consciousness make Queen Kwong’s releases especially challenging.

She has worked with producer Joe Cardamone of the Icarus Line to harness the energy, and he — along contributors such as the Cure keyboardist Roger O’Donnell, Swans’ Kristof Hahn and Blood Red Shoes’ Laura-Mary Carter (backing vocals) — was on board to helm the new album, with Tchad Blake handling the mix.

The latest single, the dream-pop-leaning “Without You, Whatever,” is about missing a person despite knowing they were a force of negativity. “Initially, it wasn’t even going to be on the record,” Callaway says. “When I recorded it, I was just trying to entertain Joe by singing in falsetto and trying to imitate Bowie. When I sent the folder of tracks to Tchad Blake, I said, ‘Oh, don’t bother mixing ‘Without You, Whatever’ because I’m not going to release it,’ and Tchad basically said, ‘WTF? That’s your single!’ So he mixed it and I added it to the record at the last minute. It’s nearly impossible for me to sing because it’s so high and out of my range, but I like that it’s extremely different from anything I’ve ever released.”

Mimi Supernova directs the video, which stars Callaway and Carter.

The album is being released July 12 via Sonic Ritual Recordings (Film School, Gypsum, among others).

||| Watch: The video for “Without You, Whatever”

||| Also: Watch the videos for “On the Run” and “I Know Who You Are”