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Trouble In Mind Records

Wish Defense

by FACS

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Terrence Falconer
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Terrence Falconer the one who listens to such kind of music must've taken a long path before diving into. at least that's how it goes with me. i began with Linkin Park and ended up here.

i must appload you guys for creating a completely guitar-based record unlike your whole discography. i don't dig synth-driven music much. this is a masterpiece for intellectualized urbanistic mindset to be dealt with in history Favorite track: Wish Defense.
fravasquez
fravasquez thumbnail
fravasquez If you like early Colin Newman, Wire and even PIL or Sonic Youth you can safely get FACS releases. Pure post-punk atmospheric minimalism.
theiantucker
theiantucker thumbnail
theiantucker bouncing angles twisting within a groove that is definitively theirs.

another highlight in their continuity of stellar output.

if'n they aren't already amongst your favorite bands,
why not?
Favorite track: Ordinary Voices.
Fabio Viola
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Fabio Viola Honestly I'm speechless. I really don't know what to say. This album is fire. Cold fire. Stunning. Favorite track: Sometimes Only.
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The repress of "Wish Defense" is pressed on clear vinyl with black splatter ("Dark Detonation"), comes housed in a black & white LP jacket (with inside print), & a printed inner sleeve

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wish Defense via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.
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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    White tape shell with black print, housed in a clear cassette case.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wish Defense via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Limited edition compact disc
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

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    Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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  • Limited edition White vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The white vinyl version of "Wish Defense" comes housed in a black & white jacket, and includes an insert.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wish Defense via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

    Sold Out

  • Black vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The black vinyl version of "Wish Defense" comes housed in a black & white jacket, and includes an insert.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Wish Defense via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

    Sold Out

1.
Love This weapon is absolute The safety of custom And history You can’t refuse You’re talking haunted I drink and talk in script Woven bones Wish granted The life you knew You looked too long Thoughtform Unsound the bell No feeling is final
2.
Ordinary voices Optimistic decay The communication of Elegance  How will I find you? I wish I  Said your name As a curse As a revolt  Against desire
3.
Wish Defense 04:05
Enter the mirror Double walker An intimate Wish defense Is it real? You beside me  The detail  Terrifying Abject self  Your grief A public Performance  I’m not here Are you real?
4.
A Room 03:18
Lives I’ve lived  In this room  Thought you were alone Clueless from privilege  Wasted and content Thought you were alone
5.
Desire Path 02:15
Sold the past  To live again Redefine the era You think you’re in It ties you up Religious feeling Domestic but unsafe Negative Peace  It ties you up
6.
Portrait of a stranger Looked you in the eye Sometimes only Sometimes I feel nothing  When you do In a passion era, From a broken state What shape is the dark? And what shape is the hate? I feel nothing When you do It comes undone With you I am the drift Of necessity  In a passive era  From a broken state They made you Chose a side
7.
You Future 04:24
Are you the same as you were? Erratic Sentimental Eyes the size of an American mile Youth is a thrill  Then it’s over Pierced veil You do not believe Youth is a thrill  When it’s over

about


The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes, all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves.



The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik - who stepped away from the group just before their debut album “Negative Houses” was released in 2018 - replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways - the roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut, while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and time. 



Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or "doubles”, tackling the idea of facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self / Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions & emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that ultimately the sentiment is “…don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope - but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to “Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover. Everything is out in the open. 



A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes about the session.

credits

released February 7, 2025

All music by FACS

Noah Leger: Drums + Percussion
Jonathan Van Herik: Bass + Acoustic guitar + Bass VI
Brian Case: Guitar + Vocals + Keyboards

Front and back cover collages by Morgan Cuinet

”Eyes the size of an American mile” can most likely be  attributed to David Keenan

“No feeling is final” Rainer Maria Rilke  

Recorded by Steve Albini May 6 & 7 2024
Additional recording by Sanford Parker May 9 2024
Mixed by John Congleton June 23 & 24 2024
Electrical Audio Room A

Mastered by Matthew Barnhart June 28 2024
Chicago Mastering Service

Remember Justin Chearno, Steve Albini, Steve Sostak, and Rick Froberg

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FACS Chicago, Illinois

FACS use minimalism and space to create abstract, modern art rock.

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