Song of the Day: Tús Nua – Fight!

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 “Fight!” by Tús Nua from the self-released album Horizons.

Tús Nua – Fight! (MP3)

You could call Tús Nua’s raw-yet-ethereal music noisy shoegaze, but dirty post-rock might be even better. "Fight!," from the Zagreb, Croatia trio’s 2017 self-released debut album Horizons, ticks all the boxes for a thundering, Mogwai-style post-rock epic, but there’s a hint of sludgy metal in the dialogue between Jordi Ilić and Jelena Božić’s guitars. Mix in a bit of trippy, Boris-like weirdness that mingles with a poison-apple bite that might remind some shoegaze/noise fans of Serena-Maneesh, add in a whisper of cold, wet winter, and you have a band to watch.

That chilly, haunting side to the Croatian three-piece comes mainly from their shared vocals. Together with bassist Matea Milevoj, Ilić and Božić’s voices blend into one reedy instrument. On “Fight!” the vocals are wraith-like and indistinct, hanging like mist in the background. The members pull in a drummer from time to time, but their songs are low on percussion, focused instead on the interplay between their voices and the guitars, which adds an eerie, folky element to their genuinely unique sound. Beyond “Fight!” Horizons is well-worth listening to in full, particularly because the group explores so many interesting directions across its nine tracks, from the dreamy instrumental “Postcards with all sorts of phrases,” to the swampy grunge of remastered single “Geysir.”

Tús Nua isn’t touring in the US in the near future, but Horizons is available for free on Bandcamp. You can follow them on Facebook here. And check out a video for the track "Geysir" below, another track from Horizons.