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Nov 22, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

Portland-based indie outfit Havania Whaal is the latest musical project of songwriters Noelle Magia and Paul Billy, who together have crafted a sharp combination of influences, ranging from goth rock, to shoegaze and post punk. The band debuted in 2015 with their full-length record, 13 A.D., and followed in 2017 with their sophomore album, Elaborate Minor Crisis. As of late, they’ve spent the pandemic at work on their forthcoming third album and adding to their growing repertoire of creative music videos.

Today, they’ve shared the latest of these videos with their new video for “Blow Torch,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Blow Torch” was one of the highlights from the band’s latest full-length record, Elaborate Minor Crisis, offering up a nervy and fiery style of post punk. The band steadily ratchets up the tension, building off of the wiry guitar lines and deadpan post punk melodies until the track explodes into its frenzied finale. The results hearken back to the early days of ‘80s post punk, bringing forth a decadent combination of dark melodicism and intense performances.

Meanwhile, for the band’s accompanying video they decided to pay homage to classic Godzilla films in DIY style. The couple spent several months saving all of their trash and using it to build a miniature town for their cat to rampage through as they both play the town’s terrified townspeople. Magia recalls of the video, “The funny thing is that our cat was actually scared of ‘Tiny Town’ and it took a lot of effort to get all of our attack shots. Our boy Kevin is a shy boy but it was fun to watch him play the role of a terrorizing monster.”

Check out the song and video below.