A new album from FACS would be notable under any circumstance, but the Chicago art-rock trio’s forthcoming sixth studio album Wish Defense, out in February via Trouble In Mind Records, has an enhanced bit of notoriety. It was the final album engineered by Steve Albini before his unexpected passing last year; two days were recorded at Electrical Audio before engineer and friend Sanford Parker finished the session, with collaborator John Congleton mixing the album in Albini’s style and vision in the Chicago studio’s A room, off the tape and utilizing Albini’s notes.
A few weeks ahead of the album release, we’re treated to a moody post-punk crawler called “You Future”, which dropped yesterday (January 20). It’s all about looking hard in the mirror and facing who you are as a person, with former you and future you squaring off on your personal ideals and motivations. It closes Wish Defense.
“The final track is also the final action, look in the mirror and ask the questions,” says FACS’ Brian Case. “It’s a future self talking to a ‘you’ from the past, assessing the path up until this point, questioning who you are. We bookended the album with the two songs that felt the most vulnerable and I think that really works with this idea of examining and challenging who you are and the perception of who you are.”
Gaze ahead and back again below.