Casper Skulls Detail Sophomore Album 'Knows No Kindness'

Watch a video for first single "Thesis"

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Aug 26, 2021

Casper Skulls have returned with details of their second album. The Toronto outfit will deliver Knows No Kindness on November 12 through Next Door Records.

Knows No Kindness follows Casper Skulls' 2017 album Mercy Works, and is said to contrast sonically from their debut. As a press release details, shoegaze and '90s alt-rock sensibilities are swapped out in favour of "expansive, dreamlike notions cut alongside hints of folk inspired by Neko Case, Neil Young and Gillian Welch."

The first look at this new musical direction arrives with "Thesis," which you can hear alongside a video directed by vocalist/guitarist, Melanie St-Pierre, Paul Los and Nora Burns, with animation by Gaia Alari.

St-Pierre explains that "Thesis" is something of a nod to an old high school teacher, who helped her develop her creative voice.

"In high school, I used to write really chaotic essays for my classes," explains St-Pierre in a statement. "I didn't really follow the structure well because I had too many thoughts about whatever topic was handed to us. The only teacher that got a kick out of this was one of my English teachers, Mr. Dodds. One time he jokingly asked if he was going to receive the abridged thesis. That always stayed with me. Finally, I found myself feeling much more suited to poetry and creative paragraph writing when I was 18, which ultimately bred my songwriting.

"I owe a lot to Mr. Dodds for allowing me to do my thing and find my own creative voice. This song is dedicated to the structurally incapable but artistically driven, and is the album's abridged thesis."

Knows No Kindness also marks Casper Skulls' first album with drummer Aurora Bangarth. Last year saw the band cover French chanteuse Françoise Hardy, while St-Pierre made her solo debut as l'loop in 2019.


Knows No Kindness:

1. Tommy
2. Thesis
3. Ouija
4. Witness
5. Rose of Jericho
6. Proem
7. Knows No Kindness
8. Monument
9. The Mouth
10. Stay The Same

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