Sextile

Helmed by Brady Keehn and Melissa Scaduto, Sextile make viciously entertaining music that draws from punk, industrial, darkwave, and EBM. On their 2015 debut album, A Thousand Hands, they made raw yet dramatic post-punk that folded psychobilly and ambient elements into its scowling sonics, then switched gears with 2017's synth-heavy, politically charged Albeit Living. Sextile continued to evolve on later releases, taking a more kinetic and electronic approach on 2018's 3 EP and the twisted collisions of punk and dance on 2023's Push. The band began in 2015, when guitarist/vocalist Keehn and drummer/vocalist Scaduto moved from Brooklyn to L.A. They soon met bassist Kenny Elkin and guitarist/keyboardist Eddie Wuebben, who shared similar taste in music as well as a love of the occult. Naming themselves after the astrological term for the harmonious union of two conflicting elements, Sextile's early music took inspiration from artists ranging from Christian Death and the Cramps to Brian Eno and the Haxan Cloak. The group's intense live shows won them a devoted following, and after opening for Ritual Howls, Sextile attracted the attention of Felte Records. Their debut for the label, A Thousand Hands (which was named after a vision Wuebben had during an open-eye meditation session) arrived in August 2015. By the time Sextile recorded their second album, bassist Cameron Michel had joined the band. Recorded in an Echo Park basement, the unhinged, politically minded synth-punk of 2017's Albeit Living called to mind forebears such as Circle X, D.A.F., and Chrome. Down to the duo of Scaduto and Keehn, Sextile's political bent continued on the 2018 single "Current Affair," which featured vocals from Sienna Scarritt, and that year's 3 EP, which took inspiration from Italian Futurist Luigi Russolo and featured a more industrial and electronic-based sound. The following year, Sextile went on hiatus, and the bandmembers worked on projects that included Keehn's techno- and EBM-inspired Panther Modern and Scaduto's S. Product, a collaboration with Arkitect's Kyle Harmon. The October 2019 death of Wuebben spurred Scaduto and Keehn to reunite with Michel, and the trio soon began to work on new music. In March 2022, Sextile released the single "Modern Weekend"/"Contortion," a pair of songs that continued the more danceable direction of 3. "Crassy Mel" appeared later in the year and also featured on the band's next full-length, Push. Arriving in September 2023, the album dove deeper into Sextile's fascination with dance music, drawing from Goldie, Josh Wink, and Primal Scream's Screamadelica as well as punk icons like Crass and Iggy Pop
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