Released December 04, 2020
All music written and performed by Richard Haig
Mastered by Sean Price
Artwork by Richard Haig
Art Heist logo by Anthony Mendolia
TREPANATION is the latest album from Richard Haig (and his first since retiring the Panic Bomber moniker). Mostly written in San Francisco during the COVID lockdown, the album consists of dancefloor-adjacent music interspersed with both personally introspective and outwardly political lyrics. The feel of the album trends toward dark, moody songwriting with powerful yet detailed sound design. There are subtle threads of humor throughout the lyrics & music, suggesting that while Richard takes his art seriously, he also has a lot of fun making it.
The title, Trepanation, means to open up a hole in one’s head. Historically this was used by mystics to supposedly release cantankerous spirits or maladies. Here it is being used as a gallows humor way of saying, “Keep an open mind.”
Richard collaborated with Eli Woods on a music video for “Negative Space,” shot on location in the Bay Area, which combines crisp digital footage with gritty analog processing for a unique look which perfectly matches the song.