Self-Implode by The Elegant Chasers Crashed 90s Indie Nostalgia into Industrial-Metal Catharsis –

Would a 90s nostalgia-drenched, synthy indie-rock track titled Self-Implode be complete without a nu-metal-esque aural curveball breakdown? Probably not; it becomes the pièce de résistance in The Elegant Chasers’ latest earworm, which grooves from a mash-up of Mansun, Kula Shaker and Happy Mondays aesthetics into a gnarled visual depiction of what internal self-implosion should sound like.

Behind The Elegant Chasers is a DIY multi-instrumentalist and programmer with a fixation on 80s and 90s indie, alternative rock, grunge, Britpop, new wave, electronic rock and industrial metal, and Self-Implode makes every one of those reference points feel combustible rather than curated. The serotonin pours from sticky-sweet polyphonic synths and angular guitar grooves until the track starts mutating against itself.

Then restraint slips away from the harmonies, the guitars sound like they have been tuned in the seventh circle of hell, and the middle eight ties the juxtaposition together with a soul-stealing guitar solo that introduces a Static-X-reminiscent outro. The result is indie euphoria getting dragged through its own nervous system.

If you have felt alienated at boiling point as of late, Self-Implode is absolutely the single to make you embrace the heat collectively. It’s the ultimate call to arms; why should we watch the world burn without bringing a little fire of our own?

Self-Implode is now available to stream on all major platforms. Support the artist by purchasing the single on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast