The multi-instrumental and alternative/indie psychedelic and progressive rock duo of Dan Hartman and Charles Ingram, also known as The Impliers, have carved out a name for themselves in the underground music scene of North Carolina, where bands like Future Islands, Valiant Thorr, and Municipal Waste populated the space. At age 15, they promised each other that they wouldn’t let life bury their passions and after many years, they upheld that promise.
They premiered their new single, “I Promise,” from their upcoming debut album, cocoon, to be released later this year. The new single is a symphony of their mastered talents as writers, producers, and artists. It has a Pink Floyd with a sprinkling of Tame Impala sound. “This is one of the first tracks we wrote for the record and highlights the indie guitar sound we formulated as teenagers within our more modern electronic, layered flavor,” shares Dan. Their vocals are hypnotic and accompanied by a catchy melody lead by the bass. They sprinkle in some synthetic elements in the song as well in the opening and at the climax of the song in their vocals.
The song is about broken and empty promises that’s told through the music, using the music to tell the real story and the vocals to represent the empty words. As the song goes on, the music and vocals become morphed. Their layering paints a picture of how promises evolve, that sometimes they mean well and then become something that doesn’t resemble the original.
While initially cut from the same cloth, Dan and Charles have crafted their own individual sounds. Dan brings melodic, impressionistic, and polished musical arrangements, driving rhythms, thoughtful lyrics, and catchy choruses. Charles contributes brooding, ethereal, ambient, raw instrumental elements and haunting, mysterious words. Together, each member brings a complementary skill set and perspective. The Impliers bring an art/pop/noir surrealism to contemporary music. Songs veer off into weird journeys, and their productions are thoughtfully layered, demanding multiple listens to take in the full majesty of their carefully composed soundscapes.
Artist Statement : “I Promise” is a good introduction to the impliers as it fuses many of our signature elements, lyrically it features vulnerable words through Beach Boys-esque harmonies that might give you more to think about on a second listen, and musically it carries our addiction to meandering upbeat melody, oddly-tuned guitars and textured synths. This is a track that comes early in our concept record ‘cocoon’ out on August 19 which kicks off a narrative universe that will span multiple albums, so if you like this track there’s more to the story looking at the album on the whole. There’s a lot more to this universe to dig into if you pay attention to our social, which features new videos weekly, and we work very hard to make it entertaining for anyone who’s kind enough to give us their attention.
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