NOIR's new EP, "Breath and Taxes" was released today by the Pittsburgh, PA-based label Distortion Productions featuring remixes from genCAB, and Iszoloscope, along with collaborators cellist Tracey Di Lascio-Martinuk, programmer Dominic Smelt and engineer Xris Smack. "Breath and Taxes" is a surreally sarcastic song about the contradictions of cults and capitalism that has roots in 1993, when it was the very first song NOIR vocalist Athan Maroulis co-wrote as a member of Spahn Ranch. Oddly enough, the idea for the lyrics emanates from when Maroulis was actually a member of Executive Slacks who were about to play at Scream in Los Angeles in 1990. There, Maroulis attended a serial killer art exhibit at a gallery in Hollywood. Complete with a gift shop, Maroulis found it so fascinatingly absurd that he later penned the lyrics about what he saw that day. "Breath and Taxes" is available on all streaming services and digital platforms.
This is NOIR's brand new version of "Breath and Taxes," the first song that NOIR vocalist Athan co-wrote as a member of Spahn Ranch in 1993. The lyrics were based on an experience Athan had when he was a member of Executive Slacks who were performing at Scream in Los Angeles in 1990. While in LA, Athan attended a serial killer exhibit at a gallery, experiencing for the first time the surprisingly rabid fanatical following for these infamous murderers, a sub-culture he could not believe actually existed complete with merchandise in a gift shop. The exhibit featured a tattoo of peeled skin in a jar of clear fluid that Charles Manson himself had razored off of his arm, hence the "Charles in a jar" line. Amongst the demented John Wayne Gacy clown paintings was a photo of killer Ed Gein's 1951 Ford that he used to transport dead bodies. The entire idolatry of serial killers concept was so fascinatingly absurd that Athan penned the lyrics to "Breath and Taxes." It was a bit of commentary on the counterculture becoming the capitalism it hates while figuratively and surreally taking a spin in Ed Gein's car. Hence, the chorus "We're in Ed's car." The title "Breath and taxes" itself was a twist on "Death and taxes," a phrase attributed to Benjamin Franklin, as well as an iconic 1931 poetry collection by Dorothy Parker.
Distortion owner, Jim Semonik, couldn’t be more excited! “I love Athan! We have been friends and colleagues for a long time now and I’m a complete nerd for his music. Going all the way back to college, I thought he had one of the most unique voices in our scene. Respect!”
Grab it today!
https://noirnyc.bandcamp.com/album/breath-and-taxes
https://open.spotify.com/album/4fNktMAW5vOVDL3K7z8WEC