A fantastic new single from Serbian band Bones in Butter, “Scenes from the Metro” explores a ghostly, psychedelic post-punk sound that weaves hypnotic guitar hums and riveting vocal layers.
Active since 2019, Bones in Butter was initially the solo project of Milutin Krasevic. Several musicians from the Belgrade scene joined during the lockdown. Now a band, Bones in Butter has released a steady stream of singles since 2020, with the fantastic “Scenes from the Metro” representing their first release of 2023.
Bones in Butter describe this track as “our venture into the post-rock department. It is a sad but true tale. It is the heart-breaking story of a centennial dream, the dream of the Belgrade Metro, a project that has never been implemented.”
Krasevic explains further about the track’s creative process: “I tried to conjure an atmosphere that is reminiscent of the 1930s but would also contain futuristic or even dystopian elements, so I sampled the song “Lili Marlen” performed by Lale Andersen, played it backwards and added parts of it to the mix.”
Clanging post-punk guitars and haunting, wordless vocals comprise a striking introduction. Reversed vocal effects and darkening guitar tones consume with a patiently atmospheric chill. The vocal work approaching 02:30 is utterly gorgeous — spine-tingling.
Past the four-minute mark, further vocal processions — emitting how the metro “has never arrived on schedule,” as passengers await like ghostly enigmas — send chills alongside the operatic backing vocal gestures. The textural power of the closing moments, with the vocals lacing the glistening keys and rhythmic pulse, is irresistibly effective.
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of January 2023’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Emerging Indie Dream-Pop.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup. The submitter accepted our content-based offer, which included financial compensation for our time writing, editing, and publishing this article.
