Ross Bogan of Doom Flamingo has unmasked his newest project, Wolf Mask, with the release of the single “LIQUIDCRYSTALDISPLAY” and an accompanying music video. The release comes in preparation for the group’s debut performance at Charleston Pour House on October 1st and its forthcoming debut album.
With “LIQUIDCRYSTALDISPLAY”, Bogan uses past prose, a wolf mask, and his love of horror to depict a character that he admits draws a lot from his own psyche: “It’s kind of an attempt at finishing out demos I wrote for other projects that snowballed into a solo project/live band,” Bogan told Live For Live Music. “The lyrics are edited from a stream of consciousness I wrote in 2020. I actually didn’t even have the mask yet.”
The video was produced by VHS master Dylan Dawkins (Persona La Ave) and shows a bevy of overlays with Bogan donning the eponymous Wolf Mask. With a filmic, neon-soaked look on drawn back resolution, “LIQUIDCRYSTALDISPLAY” unveils Wolf Mask and their continuous flow of thoughts throughout the night.
With the help of the mask, Bogan says he was able to uncover a few things about himself while writing and recording the new original songs. “I’ve always liked writing from theme and character perspectives,” he said. “It’s like clockwork though how the subconscious creeps up and I end up learning something about myself in the process. There’s a Stephen King quote I’ve always loved, ‘Fiction is the truth inside the lie.’ In some ways it’s a character, but it’s also a whole lot of me. At the end of the day, it’s a collection of songs I like to write from me and my wolf mask and a great excuse to mess with synthesizers and guitar pedals.”
He went on to discuss some of the gear that helped inspire the project: “At the moment I’m using two synths I use all the time with Doom, the Prophet Rev 2 and Moog Little Phatty. I’m also getting really into the Roland SP404 Sampler. You could do a whole concert on that thing alone. The Behringer MonoPoly has also crushed it in the studio.”
Bogan enlisted local friends and favorites for the project, including members of Human Resources, Persona La Ave, and his band Doom Flamingo. “So far I’ve been mostly working with Matt Zutell and Aaron Utterback from Human Resources in the studio. Our first show is at Charleston Pour House October 1st which will feature Dylan Dawkins of Persona La Ave on bass, Thomas Kenney also from Doom Flamingo on guitar, Dries Vandenberg from Human Resources on guitar, and Matt on drums. I’m also very excited to have Eliza Novella and Shannon Vogt joining me on vocals.”
With an undying love of the macabre—from live scoring The Exorcist, to years of Halloween-themed shows—Bogan has concocted the perfect blend of music and horror, drawing from a wide range of influences including Gary Numan, LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Papooz, the Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, Universal Horror Classics (i.e. Wolfman), Marco Benevento, TV on the Radio, and Carpenter Brut. “And no matter how far I stray, the Grateful Dead will always make it’s way in there somehow,” Bogan said, adding, “Also all of my bandmates’ and friends’ bands.”
Watch the video for “LIQUIDCRYSTALDISPLAY” in the player below. The song is now available on all streaming platforms.
Tickets for Wolf Mask’s debut performance at Charleston Pour House are on sale now. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
Wolf Mask – “LIQUIDCRYSTALDISPLAY”