Song of the Day: Typhoon – Rorschach

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on The Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “Rorschach” by Typhoon from the album Offerings, available next year via Roll Call Records.

Typhoon – Rorschach (MP3)

Portland symphonic collective Typhoon unleash an anthemic psychological thriller with "Rorschach," the first single from their upcoming album Offerings, scheduled for release on January 12, 2018, on Roll Call Records. The album, broken into three movements, follows the downward spiral of an anonymous character trapped in the terror of a lost memory. Lead singer and songwriter Kyle Morton likens the whole experience to Dante's Inferno. The second track on the first movement, "Rorschach," certainly simmers with a sense of impending doom.

The song's first scene, set against clean acoustic lines, is all too familiar: "Eyes on the screen/We have all the information now, but what does it mean?," Morton delivers with a palpable nervous quiver. He then dives deeper, referencing the titular inkblot test and the Greek underworld's river of forgetfulness. The band's other members start to fill in his visuals with unnerving layers of static, flickering guitar, and heavy drum strikes. As they do best, Typhoon pulls the listener in myriad directions, building tension out of an ominous acoustic guitar, slipping in mournful strings, then plunging into cacophony. "How you gonna hold on?," they eventually break out in fiery unison. The sing-along tastes sweet but is all sour—while they may be speaking to the album's main character, their pointed question feels just as directed at the rest of us.

Check out a video below for first movement from the forthcoming album. Typhoon will be playing Friday, February 16th at The Crocodile; follow them on Facebook for more future tour dates.