Aural Aggravation

NYC-based art-rockers Ecce Shnak are back with ‘Vincent’, the first single from their full-length album Dandy Variances, out later this year via Records, Man Records. Operatic trills collide with frantic rock energy in a high-decibel takedown of a formulaic antagonist through the power of one’s own voice. Directed and edited by DJay Brawner, the video was produced by DJay Brawner, Brooks Jones, Beth Narducci, and David Roush.

Formed in the mid-noughties and forged in NYC’s experimental scene, Ecce Shnak (pronounced Eh-kay sh-knock) is made up of David Roush (composer, bassist and one of two singers), Bella Komodromos (vocals), Chris Krasnow (guitar), Gannon Ferrell (guitar), and Henry Buchanan-Vaughn (drums).

“This is a mid-tempo, jumpy, flash-in-the-pan hardcore song with classical art song vocals. I originally wrote it for a film that was never made but was imagined by a classmate of mine at Temple University in Philadelphia in 2015. The character Vincent is an archetype of a smug, inconsiderate jerk most of us occasionally come across, try as we might to avoid them. Vincent is not an absolute scoundrel, but he is wack enough to rightly deserve the average person’s indignant eye-roll,” says David Roush.

“Ultimately, the narrator resolves to overthrow Vincent’s jerkface’itude in the final refrain: “I’ll destroy your equipment with my voice!” If you have a medium-tier opponent in your life whom you would like to rid yourself of somehow, you can sing this line to yourself. Hopefully your Vincent will buzz off and go kick rocks!”

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Ecce Shnak has a reputation for astounding performances, their music a volatile yet meticulously crafted ecosystem, where technical precision meets a sense of inspired mayhem. May brings their East Coast Tour with platinum-selling legends EMF, followed by UK dates in June. Last year, the bands did a West Coast tour, along with Spacehog. Then Ecce Shnak featured on EMF’s stellar track ‘LGBTQ+ Lover’ with both Davey and Bella contributing vocals. The video footage was filmed during the 2025 tour.

“The music video is an homage to an important music video in the average millennial’s musical subconscious, that of ‘Down’ by 311. The tempo, feel and musical production of the two songs is similar enough that, when I was imagining what the music video could be, the idea of doing a cinematographic tribute to that 1990’s relic seemed compelling. We asked the director and editor DJay Brawner to create as close to a shot-for-shot tribute as he could, and we feel that he and his crew succeeded handily. However, we deviated playfully a little from the original,” says David Roush.

“There is a reference to another important music video of the last 20 years in the pale, silver-haired, demon-like being who is the ‘Vincent’ in this music video – a re-imagining of the S&M-tinged monk-like Hell-being in the music video for Meshuggah’s ‘Bleed’. However, unlike the poor chap in the ‘Bleed’ video, the good guys (members of Ecce Shnak) liberate themselves from Vincent’s spiritual dominion with compassionate magic and send him hurtling into the blue sky, their raised jazz-hands trembling together as the video comes to a close.”

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TOUR DATES

MAY 07  Philadelphia, PA, USA – Nikki Lopez
MAY 08  Buffalo, NY, USA  – Town Ballroom
MAY 09  Toronto, ON, Canada – Dance Cave
MAY 10  Montreal, QC, Canada – Bar Le Ritz
MAY 11  Boston, MA, USA  – City Winery
MAY 13  New York, NY, USA  – Sony Hall
MAY 14  Millersville, PA, USA  – Phantom Power
MAY 15  Baltimore, MD, USA  – Metro Gallery
MAY 16  Hamden, CT, USA  – Space Ballroom
JUN 02  Manchester, UK – Gorilla
JUN 03  Worthing, UK – The Factory Live
JUN 04  Portsmouth, UK – Kola
JUN 05  Southend, UK – Chinnerys
JUN 06  London, UK – The Garage
JUN 07  Leeds, UK – Brudenell Social Club

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