Appalooza has today released their new video for the track titled ‘Magnolia’ from their upcoming album ‘The Emperor of Loss’, dropping this fall via Ripple Music. This is one of those tracks that you just sit there and listen to, and, with the video, watch in pure awe. Ingesting as you intake. Taking it all in before you realize it has you. That whole thing. It’s a package. An assault on the senses.
What gets me first is that heavy hook within the margins. A lucid mix of hoopla and heavy that seeps in and engulfs you with such power that you can’t help but hit that replay button a few times just to relive the past few moments.
For a song to be about Stockholm syndrome, the music gives the sense of a subtle predator, while the lyrics lament the effects on the prey. This gives ‘Magnolia’ that perfect marriage of sound and substance. The music reacts to the subject matter and enhances the emotion. This is music, at its core essence.
About ‘Magnolia’
The fiery French trio takes no prisoners and unleashes all their horsepower on new single “Magnolia”, hitting with more volume, distortion, and grit than ever before. About the song theme, Appalooza says: “This song subtly explores the theme of Stockholm syndrome, delving into a profound sense of loss, isolation, and existential disorientation. The narrator — a woman — seems emotionally stranded, as if caught in the aftermath of a breakup or disappearance that has left her suspended in time, waiting for something she cannot define. Through a subtle irony, the song references the symbolic loyalty and devotion of the Magnolia, twisting it into a darker longing: she yearns for her tormentor, the very person whose absence has left her feeling hollow. As if, without him, she no longer exists.”
The band hints about their forthcoming new album “The Emperor of Loss”: “It will mark a darker chapter than its predecessor, yet it stays true to Appalooza’s core identity. We’re continuing to forge the path that feels authentic to who we are, both musically and artistically.”
About Appalooza
Appalooza is a lost steed thirsting for freedom, drawing inspiration and essence from the dust of an arid desert. After a first American tour in 2015, the band galloped relentlessly and trampled the paths of the studio to record their first album “Appalooza”.
In the winter of 2018, the band returned from an extensive US West Coast tour and signed to Californian label Ripple Music for the release of their second full-length “The Holy Of Holies”, bearing a brand new visual identity and sound. Described as “audacious and explosive” by Rock’N’Force and “a hard rocking beast of an album” by UK website The Sleeping Shaman, the heavy trio held all the cards to make a triumphant ascension among the French heavy rock scene, with Guitar Part Magazine describing them as “Alice In Chains meets Them Crooked Vultures”.
Weaving its storyline around enigmatic Biblical references and a fascinating cinematic approach, their third album “The Shining Son” (2023) presented eight massive-sounding tracks that subtly blend stoner rock, grunge rock, and the trio’s trademark tribal percussions. Propelled in an exhilarating stampede of thick metallic riffs, rumbling grooves, multi-layered rhythms, and frontman Wild Horse’s dazzling baritone vocals, Appalooza delivered their most audacious album to date, a sonic tour de force that cemented their reputation as one of France’s most creative heavy rock outfits of their generation.
Featured image by Mary White.
LINKS:
https://www.facebook.com/Appalooza.OfficialPage/
https://appalooza.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/appaloozaofficial