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Avant-Garde Post-Punk project Zabus releases new album “Automatic Writhing”

By Kath Galasso on January 7, 2025

Washington’s Avant-Garde Post-Punk project Zabus pushes the boundaries of radical honesty, gothic soundscapes and chaotic psychedelia on new album “Automatic Writhing”, out now via Saccharine Underground. Future dystopia is largely up to us, according to the well-fleshed out themes at play here. Existential questions that few dare to consider or communicate about loom large here, a safe space to meditate on the most critical challenges facing our lives. Finding the balance between positive, negative, and undeniable reality, Zabus manage to achieve a rare and intuitive feat of facing the new with bold art as the ground crumbles beaneath,

Automatic Writhing” tackles the notion of ‘spiritual evolution’ from an unconventional angle—escapism vs introspection; what is the cost of pursuing a ‘virtual reality’ (both literally and figuratively as a disconnection of true desire and feeling, reinforced by the worst aspects of modern social media and unrealistic expectations of beauty) as an escape mechanism versus meditation, ritual, and (in unique circumstances) astral projection as a method of true introspection and self analysis? Through technological advancement at the expense of conscious enlightenment, we create our own false plane of escape, opening the door for lower vibrational entities to feed on our psychopathy and manipulate us through exploiting our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This residue infests and chains us to our current hell—this dimension of physical earth. Simply, our conscious choices (enlightenment or devolution) can destroy or pave the path to future dystopia.

Heavy themes aside, Zabus’s music reaches deep and is sure to connect with fans of everyone from late-era Bowie and Nine Inch Nails to Joy Division, Bauhaus, Samhain, The Cure, Killing Joke, Depeche Mode and modern artists like Xui Zui, METZ and DIIV. The mood and emotion is palpable and immediately understandable for those in the know. Here is an artist who has captured the zeitgeist the hard way; through experience.

Stream “Automatic Writhing” on Spotify.
Listen and purchase on Bandcamp.
Watch the music videos for “No Sound Like Progress” and “Subculture“.

Musician Names/Instruments:
Jeremy Moore//voice, guitars, 6 string bass, synthesis; Alex Zorn//guitars
Johnny Wielding// drums, 4 string bass, percussion Akane Shimizu//strings/synthesis
Producer Name(s): Produced by Zabus, Mastered/Engineered by Andy Baldwin (Metropolis Studios, UK)

Websites:
Official Website: www.zabus.bandcamp.com
Twitter: @zabusmusic
Spotify: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/zabus/automatic-writhing
Bandcamp: www.zabus.bandcamp.com
Youtube Channel: Saccharine Underground DC (https://m.youtube.com/ @jeremymoore1595)

ON THE ALBUM:

“Automatic Writhing” tackles the notion of ‘spiritual evolution’ from an unconventional angle—escapism vs introspection; what is the cost of pursuing a ‘virtual reality’ (both literally and figuratively as a disconnection of true desire and feeling, reinforced by the worst aspects of modern social media and unrealistic expectations of beauty) as an escape mechanism versus meditation, ritual, and (in unique circumstances) astral projection as a method of true introspection and self analysis? Through technological advancement at the expense of conscious enlightenment, we create our own false plane of escape, opening the door for lower vibrational entities to feed on our psychopathy and manipulate us through exploiting our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This residue infests and chains us to our current hell—this dimension of physical earth. Simply, our conscious choices (enlightenment or devolution) can destroy or pave the path to future dystopia.

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY:

Zabus: Biography/ “Automatic Writhing” (2024)

Formed in 2023, Zabus is the brainchild of Jeremy Moore, multi instrumentalist, writer, founder and curator of Washington D.C. non profit artist collective and label Saccharine Underground. With a focus on dark ambient, avant-garde, experimental, gothic and psychedelic rock, the label has been home to several of Moore’s projects including Thee Rise Ov Sadistic Youth (death rock), Zero Swann (free improvisation/psychedelic) and Gorazde (dark ambient/experimental/psychedelic rock). Zabus is the offspring and natural evolution of Moore’s previous bands, combining members from each and melding the different sounds.

As a collective, Moore’s projects have always had a rotating cast of contributors, and after Gorazde’s final release, “Doctrine Of The Void” in 2023, Moore aimed to continue the lyrical and musical themes captured during those sessions while opening the door to wider influences. Zabus currently sees Moore (vocals, guitars, 6 string bass, synthesis) joined by Thee Rise Ov Sadistic Youth’s Johnny Wielding (drums, 4 string bass, percussion), recent collaborator Alex Zorn (guitars, synthesis) with Zero Swann’s Akane Shimizu providing strings and additional programming/synthesis, maintaining a foundation rooted in dark existentialism while providing many musical avenues for expressions of grief, tragedy, and hope.

Released four days before the death of his father, “Doctrine Of The Void” was an unwitting posthumous statement but opened a gateway for Moore’s deeper introspection and lyrical inspiration through the process of mourning— setting the blueprint for what would become the Zabus debut,
“Topography Of Iconoclasm” (released Jan 2024). As a darkly avant-garde, free improvisational release, Topography set a thematic course for Zabus, both lyrically and musically, which carried into their more accessible but still highly experimental sophomore proto-goth release “The Future Of Death” (released April 2024). Zabus focuses more on atmosphere than adhering to any specific genre classifications which allows the band to enter each recording session with a fresh slate divorced from any expectations or preconceived notions. What’s consistent from album to album, however, is their core ethos: “…to shed the idea of mortal flesh while embracing spiritual evolution, and to heal through a release of physical attachments and desires.” Furthermore, “…death and grief are universal unlike traditional religious belief systems which often divide us and can be the impetus for horrific crimes and perpetrated inhumanity. Our core message being the rejection of nihilism and the abandonment of divisive modes of thought through the exploration of what unites us—death, grief, tragedy, and eventual triumph…through perseverance and will.”

“Automatic Writhing” (released September 2024) is the latest offering from this highly prolific act. Recorded at SV Studios, Washington D.C. from July-August 2024, Automatic benefits from a diversity of influences imparted by the group’s members with elements of late 80s era Chameleons (UK), early Bauhaus, Samhain, David Bowie, and even gothic doom in the vein of 90s era My Dying Bride flowing through the heart of the album tracks—the musical template partially relies on free improvisation, with most synthesized textural elements and background harmonies performed in the moment, unrehearsed, but with a loose framework and mood set by Moore’s lyrics. Automatic tackles the notion of ‘spiritual evolution’ from an unconventional angle—escapism vs introspection; what is the cost of pursuing a ‘virtual reality’ (both literally and figuratively as a disconnection of true desire and feeling, reinforced by the worst aspects of modern social media and unrealistic expectations of beauty) as an escape mechanism versus meditation, ritual, and (in unique circumstances) astral projection as a method of true introspection and self analysis? Through technological advancement at the expense of conscious enlightenment, we create our own false plane of escape, opening the door for lower vibrational entities to feed on our psychopathy and manipulate us through exploiting our vulnerabilities and weaknesses. This residue infests and chains us to our current hell—this dimension of physical earth. Simply, our conscious choices (enlightenment or devolution) can destroy or pave the path to future dystopia.

“Automatic Writhing” was engineered by Andy Baldwin (Metropolis Studios) and produced by Zabus with artwork designed by Ava Agosti and Jeremy Moore.