DULL MOURNING RELEASE CANDID, FOUR-TRACK EP UGLY FLAME
Deriving from North Carolina, four-piece, post-hardcore unit Dull Mourning has shared their forthright, debut EP Ugly Flame. Comprised of four tracks including their latest standout single, “Narrow Losses,” Ugly Flame approaches mental health struggles and frustration with a sincere frankness that is both straightforward and intoxicating while questioning the purpose of life through tracks such as “Nose Bleed” and “Demigod.” Across Ugly Flame, the group effortlessly combines the strongest elements of post-hardcore, grunge, and emo to create a well-rounded listening experience.
Following the release of their debut single “Burdens” in the summer of 2021, Ugly Flame utilizes a culmination of clean and unclean vocals to create an ebb and flow of distortion that complements their sound’s ever-present heavy bassline, punishing guitar work, and aggressive drums. Their latest single “Narrow Losses” marks vocalist/bassist Jonathan Owens’ struggles with depression and medication, and offers an innermost look into his subconscious thought.
“The single is about medication for depression and how it really can mess up your brain,” Jonathan Owens explains of “Narrow Losses.” “I had a really bad struggle to find the right medicine but the first few months were awful.”
Ahead of Ugly Flame, Dull Mourning also released a video for “Narrow Losses” in December 2021. As Owens’ bassline kicks in, the video begins with the group in a dimly-hued room that shifts between purple, red, and blue, and is surrounded by TVs, some sideways or entirely upside down. The TV monitors bounce between images of the band playing and glimpses of unknown figures that are captured between static that has filled the screens.
As the video continues, Owens is seen sitting on the floor in a room filled with TVs displaying similar figures including an animated skeleton that slowly loses bones and crumbles on the screen behind Owens.
Through lyrics such as, “I put my life on the line/For people who don’t care if I live or die/Have you felt the shame/On their disappointed faces /Looking at you,” Dull Mourning exemplify the commonality of mental health struggles that are still not discussed enough in the mainstream.
The video for “Narrow Losses” was created by Garett Barefoot/Blackplate Productions. Ugly Flame was recorded and mixed by Jeremy White at The Hammering Process Studio, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering Studio.