Schande Shares “We’re Not Twins” Via Thurston Moore’s The Daydream Library Series

Today, UK-based noise rock outfit Schande shared “We’re Not Twins,” the latest preview of their new LP entitled Once Around, due later this summer via The Daydream Library Series, the house record label of Ecstatic Peace Library operated by Thurston & Eva Moore. Tackling feelings of worthlessness, the silliness of grudges and high horses, and the wake up calls we need to give ourselves sometimes, the track further showcases Schande’s melodically angular approach to songwriting — searing and calm in equal measures, reminiscent yet distinctive — acting almost as a bridge between the poignant and restrained guitar ambience of previous single “Relevant Campaigns,” and its cascading, fuzzed out foil “52 hz.”

Frontwoman Jen Chochinov explains, “The title is from Ron Howard’s 1984 movie ‘Splash,’ which we like to quote when we’re having dufus moments. The song is not about ‘Splash,’ (sadly, I know) yet is about owning and repairing your habits that make you act like a dufus, a dingus, or somewhere dufus/dingus adjacent. Sometimes you have to take a hard look in the mirror and take stock of the ways that insecurity, pride, and stubbornness affect your relationships.”

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nspired by the works of writers such as Hannah Arendt and Adriana Cavarero, Once Around focuses on notions of personal existence and subjectivity. As Chochinov puts it, the record consists of “contemplations on the ways in which we do and do not disclose ourselves to each other, our responsibilities towards ourselves and others, and the ways we do or do not acknowledge the experiences of others.” Mirrored by the band’s collaborative musical process (Chochinov writes the lyrics to instrumentals formed out of jams and group revision), the album aims to explore the ways in which even the most personal journeys depend on others, something the band of expats — Chochinov is from the US, drummer Ryan Grieve hails from Canada, and bassist Gio Villaraut is from Italy — navigate daily as they establish and reinvent themselves in their adoptive home of the UK.

Schande’s current sound was shaped by Chochinov’s stint playing in the Thurston Moore Guitar Ensemble, led by the legendary frontman of Sonic Youth. On the heels of playing with the group, Chochinov started experimenting with alternative tunings, including those she learned from Thurston himself. The freedom offered by new tunings gave the band a chance to approach songs and song writing in a new way. “It was like being given free reign in a science lab where nothing was off limits. At worst you create an awful sound and at best you get the chance to surprise yourself and land on something exciting.”

The California-born Chochinov has been crafting catchy, propulsive rock in DIY circles since the early 1990s. Solo and full band adventures throughout the years have included a split 7” with The Cribs and James Murphy’s pre-LCD Soundsystem group Speedking, playing the legendary Indie Tracks festival (UK), and playing Happy Happy Birthday to Me’s Athens Pop Festival (US). Since relocating to London in 2013, she has continued playing shows throughout the UK and US both solo and with her full band. In 2018 and 2019, she was a touring member of Thurston Moore’s Guitar Ensemble and played shows throughout the UK and Europe alongside James Sedwards(Nøught, Thurston Moore Group), Deb Googe (My Bloody Valentine, Thurston Moore Group), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Jem Doulton(Thurston Moore Group, The Oscillation), and Jonathan Leideker(Wobbly).

The Daydream Library Series independent record label just celebrated five years in operation. Thurston & Eva founded the label in 2018 to release the debut album Sistahs by London’s black, feminist, punk band Big Joanie and have since released recordings by Xopher Davidson, Seafoam Walls, Devon Ross, Katherina Bornefeld, Las Nubes and others.

“We’re Not Twins” Lyrics:
A simple strife
A force to find
Fears of one fate, always one step behind
A force of mind, figure of lines
Feeling weightless, keep forgetting how
I’m of half-mind, come by

Aren’t we the worse for wear?
Save one fate, come by
Save a stutter-stride to catch my eye
All this wondering of worth and why
I’ll be worse than,
I’ll be worse than kind

Still around and sudden
Held ground for what?

Schande Live Dates:
May 10   London, UK @ New River Studios w/ Leaf Library, Darren Hayman
May 11   Hastings, UK @  Tough Love Records w/ Astral Swans (Free)
June 1    Sheffield, UK @ Delicious Clam w/ Broken Chanter, Mammoth Penguins
June 21  London, UK @ Shackelwell Arms w/ Caleb Nichols, Spring Major, Felicette
July 19   London, UK @ TBD w/ Me Rex
July 20   Nottingham, UK @ TBD w/ Me Rex
July 21   Oxford, UK @ Tap Social

Once Around Tracklist:
1. Derek
2. Palimpsest
3. Apogee
4. Gregor MacGregor
5. Relevant Campaigns
6. Double Hackner
7. We’re Not Twins
8. 52 hz
9. Last Horse