Born and raised in Seattle, Jesse Damm performs under the name It Sound, crafting music that reflects both the raw energy of the Pacific Northwest and the primal artistry that fuels his vision. With visual collaborations from Parisian artist Pascal Le Gras, who is known for his striking cover work with The Fall and The Jazz Butcher, It Sound blends sonic rebellion with imagery that feels equally untamed and evocative. Though operating primarily as a one-man band, Jesse expands the project with collaborations that deepen its reach, drawing in voices from Caithlin DeMarrais of Rainer Maria, mastering work by avant-garde figure Weasel Walter, and even the voices of his children. These creative intersections add dimension to his work, setting the stage for a sound and aesthetic that defy conventions and lean heavily into atmosphere, experimentation, and emotional intensity.
“It’s Called Blood” is the haunting new single by It Sound, officially released on July 18th, 2025, as the title track and lead single from the forthcoming LP set for October 10 through Seahorse Recordings. From its very first moments, the track establishes a distinct identity that feels both unsettling and captivating. Instead of easing the listener in, it dives directly into a dense and brooding sonic atmosphere where every note and texture contributes to an otherworldly experience. The song thrives on a sense of ritualistic gravity, presenting itself not merely as a piece of music but as a soundscape designed to alter perception. This immersive intent is what gives the track its remarkable edge, marking it as more than a conventional single.
The opening of “It’s Called Blood” is marked by a low-end rumble paired with fractured guitar lines that immediately build tension. The guitars cut jaggedly through the mix, invoking a raw post-punk energy, while the bass resonates with cavernous depth that grounds the piece in a primal force. Instead of a traditional introduction that builds toward a climax, the song places the listener directly into a fully realized atmosphere where dissonance and distortion serve as the foundation. This refusal to follow expected structures reinforces the mood of ritual and confrontation, creating a setting that feels less like a beginning and more like a plunge into a fully formed world.
The vocals of “It’s Called Blood” are a central element in establishing its distinctive character. Delivered in a style that exists between spoken word and song, the voice has an incantatory grit that feels both intimate and confrontational. Rather than relying on soaring melodies or conventional hooks, the vocal presence functions as a spectral guide through the fog of sound. Each phrase is delivered with a chant-like rhythm, infusing the lyrics with a hypnotic weight that transforms them from mere words into textures. The effect is one of invocation, as if the vocals themselves are a spell being cast to bind the listener within the track’s shadowy environment.
The Instrumentation is dense and layered, thriving on repetition and cyclical patterns rather than linear progression. Distorted guitars bring a jagged edge that recalls the underground energy of 80s and 90s post-punk, while the bass rumbles with industrial weight, anchoring the track in a sense of primal urgency. Layers of sound fold and mutate over one another in a collage-like style, constantly shifting to prevent the listener from ever finding steady ground. These choices ensure that the track retains a sense of unpredictability and restlessness, a quality that echoes the rebellious spirit of the Swell Maps while also channeling the electronic pulse and mechanical energy of acts like Soft Cell and Fad Gadget.
The ambiance of “It’s Called Blood” is deliberately dreamlike and disorienting. Instead of offering moments of dramatic release, the track sustains its tension, keeping the listener trapped within a fog where clarity is elusive. The voice and instruments blur together until they feel inseparable, dissolving into a haze that replaces narrative with sensation. This approach places the listener in a liminal state where the song’s meaning is not delivered directly but is instead felt on a visceral level. The atmosphere oscillates between unsettling detachment and hypnotic immersion, allowing the track to captivate even as it resists resolution.
Production plays an essential role in balancing the rawness of the track with its precision. Reverb, distortion, and echo envelop each instrument, creating a layered density that could easily collapse into chaos but instead remains meticulously held together. The mix ensures that every sound carries weight, whether it is the jagged guitar, the cavernous bass, or the ghostly vocal presence. This balance between grit and clarity allows the track to achieve an effect that feels simultaneously chaotic and controlled. The production reinforces the ritualistic and immersive nature of the song, giving it both edge and cohesion.
The music video for “It’s Called Blood,” directed by Rockland Bazemore, provides a visual counterpart to the song’s hypnotic and unsettling energy. It unfolds as a kaleidoscope of imagery, where the viewer is constantly challenged to reassess what they are seeing, echoing the song’s theme of perception and transformation. Bazemore, known as an editor, motion graphics animator, musician, and yacht captain, brings a vivid and surreal lens to the track, constructing a world where reality bends and nothing is quite what it seems. Just as the music blurs boundaries between voice and instrument, the video collapses the line between image and imagination, amplifying the ritualistic disorientation of the piece. The result is a visual experience that deepens the song’s impact, ensuring that its atmosphere extends beyond sound into a full sensory immersion.
It’s Called Blood is a Hypnotic Ritual Of Sound That Pulls Listeners Into A Raw, Disorienting, And Visceral World Where Music Becomes Pure Atmosphere And Emotion
Ultimately, “It’s Called Blood” stands as a bold artistic statement from It Sound, capturing the project’s ethos of atmosphere, rebellion, and visceral emotion. It refuses to offer easy entry points, instead demanding that its audience surrender to its ritualistic haze. The single serves not only as a preview of the album to come but also as a standalone work that demonstrates how music can function as a transformative experience rather than entertainment alone. By blending raw intensity with hypnotic repetition, by blurring the line between voice and instrument, and by prioritizing sensation over structure, “It’s Called Blood” asserts itself as a song designed to linger long after it ends. It is unsettling, entrancing, and undeniably powerful, marking a defining moment for It Sound and setting a high bar for what will follow with the album’s release this fall.
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