Geregeld Ontregeld Presents: FACS (US) & more T.B.A.

Geregeld Ontregeld is proud to present a night of experimental noise punk with Chicago band FACS on tour to present their new album ”Wish Defense” engineered by Steve Albini and out on ”trouble in mind.. records” in February 2025!

more T.B.A.

FFO: Bo Ningen & Hella & Deliluh
FACS

The duality of “man” is a subject that has been explored in art for centuries, from writings of the Bible to Descartes,

all the way up to filmmakers like Lynch, Cronenberg, & Carpenter. Who is your “true self” & what do they want? With

their sixth studio album “Wish Defense” (again for longtime home Trouble In Mind Records), Chicago trio FACS take

a good, long look in the mirror to face themselves.

The return of original member Jonathan Van Herik – who stepped away from the group just before their debut album

“Negative Houses” was released in 2018 – replacing longtime bassist Alianna Kalaba brings renewed vigor & a

marked angularity from the band’s more recent output. The songs still hit hard, but the approach is sideways – the

roles have changed since Van Herik’s original tenure & his previous time with Case & powerhouse drummer Noah

Leger in Disappears; now on bass, Van Herik was originally the group’s guitar player and features on the debut,

while current guitarist Brian Case played bass. This role reversal has helped the band’s dynamic, offering up a

different musical perspective than before, now revisiting the trio’s long-going collaboration with some distance and

time.
Case notes that the lyrics on “Wish Defense” revolve around doppelgängers or “doubles”, tackling the idea of

facing yourself and observing your ideas and motivations. Look no further than the album’s title track; “Enter the

mirror / Double walker / An intimate / Wish defense / Is it real? / You beside me / The detail / Terrifying / Abject self /

Your grief / A public / Performance”. Case lays out the entire album’s theme in one stanza; Are your actions &

emotions your true self? Or are they a performative aspect of that “other” person you put forward? Case says that

ultimately the sentiment is “…don’t let the bastards get you down, there’s something beyond this moment, like hope

– but not in the naive belief that ultimately people are good”. “Wish Defense”s artwork is also a subtle reference to

“Negative Houses”’ art, returning to that album’s black & white starkness & minimalism. The album’s checkerboards

everywhere are offset reflections of themselves, mirrored with the album’s lyrics printed front & center on the cover.

Everything is out in the open.

A final note; “Wish Defense” is the last album engineered by Steve Albini. Two days were recorded at Electrical

Audio in early May of 2024 before Steve’s untimely passing, with renowned engineer & friend Sanford Parker

stepping in to finish the session 24 hours later, tracking the last bits of vocals and overdubs. Longtime collaborator

John Congleton mixed the album as Albini would have; in Electrical Audio’s A room, off the tape, using Albini’s notes

about the session.

Doors: 20:00

Damage: €12