Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

A tongue-twister turned into a psychological dark rock spiral.

What starts as a simple phrase becomes panic, pressure, and total lyrical collapse. Every repetition spirals deeper into chaos until the words themselves feel weaponized.

This one hits like a racing mind trapped in a feedback loop — anxiety, obsession, and repetition crashing together in pure dark energy.

The Preying Dawn

Out now wherever you stream music

mothshade presents: REVENANT

A heavier, more collaborative second album that turns inward, examining identity through abrasion and restraint.

Colin Thomas Nichols is the multi-instrumentalist artist, songwriter and producer at the helm of mothshade. The projectreturns with REVENANT, the second full-length release from his solo project mothshade, arriving May 8, 2026. Where the debut LIMINAL leaned into atmosphere and slow-burning tension, Colin pushes the project into denser territory here, sharpening its edges without losing the underlying sense of dynamics and power. The result is an album that feels both confrontational and deliberate, shaped as much by physical weight as by introspection.

Though mothshade remains largely a solo endeavor, REVENANT marks a shift in process. For the first time, Colin brings in guest musicians, adding cello by Nina Uzelac and live drums from Nicole Trinchero, Adriana Cappucci, and Giovana Teixeira. These contributions do not dilute the project’s identity; instead, they deepen its sense of space and movement. The drums, in particular, introduce a human instability that contrasts with the precision of programmed elements, while the cello threads through several tracks with a restrained but persistent presence.

The album opens with “rise,” a heavy hitter that sets a brooding tone without rushing into impact. It establishes a sonic language rooted in low-end power and careful layering. From there, REVENANT unfolds as a sequence of escalating tensions. Tracks like “ashes to ashes” and “parasite” lean into aggression, driven by down-tuned guitar work that locks tightly with the percussion. The riffs are not ornamental; they function as rhythmic anchors, guiding the listener through shifts in intensity.

The songs on the album add a lot of variety to the project’s range. The performances move between more delivery and clean, melodic passages, often within the same track. This contrast becomes one of the album’s defining features. On “echo chamber” and “recovery,” the softer vocal lines introduce moments of clarity without resolving the underlying unease. The balance between force and restraint feels intentional, suggesting a push and pull rather than a simple dynamic contrast.

Midway through the album, the pacing shifts. “echo” and “faultline” pull back slightly, allowing space for texture and ambiance to lean more forward. These tracks act as a pivot point, redirecting the album’s momentum toward something more reflective. The heaviness remains, but it is less about impact and more about persistence. 

The thematic core of REVENANT emerges most clearly in its latter half. The idea of identity as something unstable, something that can be altered piece by piece, runs through tracks like “stay” and “hunger.” The album approaches this concept without stating it outright, instead using shifts in tone and structure to suggest fragmentation and reconstruction. “erase” and “sleepwalker” extend this line of thought, focusing on the aftermath of change rather than the act itself.

By the time REVENANT reaches “empty frame” and “residue,” the album feels less like a linear progression and more like a cycle. Elements introduced earlier return in altered forms, reinforcing the sense that identity within the record is not fixed but continuously reshaped. The closing moments do not offer resolution. Instead, they leave a lingering question about what remains after transformation has taken place.

Throughout the album, Colin maintains a careful balance between influence and individuality. The weight and precision of the instrumentation recall industrial and alternative metal traditions, while the melodic sensibility introduces a different kind of depth. The addition of guest musicians does not shift the project away from its core; it expands the palette in ways that feel purposeful rather than decorative.

REVENANT stands as a more aggressive and emotionally direct release than its predecessor, but it avoids excess. Every element feels considered, from the pacing of the tracklist to the interplay between organic and programmed sounds. It is an album that confronts its themes without overstating them, allowing the listener to engage with its ideas on their own terms.

No fork. No knife. Just teeth and life.

Midwest nights. Loud guitars. Real hunger.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/7dQ8HVjksfY