Shawn Magill of Secrecies in a still from the “Cathedrals” video. Photo: Courtesy Secrecies
Dallas band Secrecies — Shawn Magill, Leah Lane, Alex Bhore, Dean Adams, and Ivan Beltran — vividly describes its sound on Facebook: “Shoegaze psyche dream synth pop electronica dipped in sultry house.”
Far be it for me to try and single out any particular element in that daisy chain of adjectives as more fitting than another — the whole is very much greater than the sum of its parts, as evidenced by Secrecies’ utterly arresting new single, “Cathedrals,” which my colleague Nilufer Arsala premiered last week on The KXT Local Show.
Now, the group is pulling the wraps off an expressive video to go with the track, which KXT is pleased to premiere below.
The track is the lead single from Secrecies’ forthcoming sophomore studio album, Perfect Bite, which is due out May 17 on Idol Records, and is the follow-up to the synth-pop, shoegaze-stippled band’s self-titled 2019 debut.
“’Cathedrals’ was written in the waning days of the pandemic, when I had started traveling back to New York City for work, masked up and terrified of getting sick,” Magill said via email. “For the music video, I wanted to capture that feeling of being surrounded by something much bigger than yourself — that feeling of awe and wonder when seeing a cityscape at dusk or taking in natural beauty, and I also wanted it to showcase our style of playing.”
Magill captured footage in Manhattan, as well as her cabin out in Winnsboro, and mixed in footage (shot by Larry Hill) of Magill and her bandmate Lane performing at Denton’s Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios.
As for the album, Magill describes the 12-track effort (produced by Bhore at Oak Cliff’s Elmwood Recording) as “an emotionally charged but achingly beautiful soundscape.”
“Music has always been my personal therapy when I find myself dealing with thoughts that are much bigger than I know what to do with,” Magill said via email. “I turn to creating music to express those feelings and speak for me. So, Perfect Bite really just materialized out of the times it was born in — dealing with feelings of anxiety, depression, and fear, as well as great hope and faith in mankind.”
To celebrate Perfect Bite’s release, Secrecies will perform on May 18 at the Double Wide Bar in Dallas, joined by Danes and Snowdonnas on the bill. Magill said the band plans to release a few additional singles in the intervening months.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
