afropunk premiere: check out static people’s latest post-punk masterpiece ‘rare creatures’ ep. #soundcheck

San Francisco post-punk trio Static People kick off their Rare Creatures EP with an explosion of infectious power-pop. “Monkey Scratches” evokes late 90’s guitar pop in the best way, but it quickly gives way to the moodier rest of the EP. Think of “Monkey Scratches” and “Tonight” as appetizers for the much darker and heavier fare to follow.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

The haunting moods at the heart of Rare Creatures make sense though when you consider that singer/keyboardist Dmitra Smith and bassist Shawn Miller both hail from the Black Futurist Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute Voodoo Dolly. When “Still” kicks in full, the band wears their influences proudly. Smith’s powerful and expressive voice invites comparisons to Siouxsie Sioux. The song pulls at the tension between Smith’s beautiful voice, and the band’s louder tendencies. It builds to a crescendo rock-out that never comes.

Rare Creatures closes with its massive title track. Pensive, but hopeful, it follows in the grand 80’s goth/post-punk tradition of dark love songs. The song explodes while Smith intones “hand in hand / this rare creature / that is us / till the end.”

Photo by Cathy Stancil Photography