Beck Zegans Spent a Long Time on “Riddle” — Then Stripped It Back to the Bone

Every album has a problem child. For Beck Zegans, the problem child on Engraving of Armor was “Riddle” — and the solution turned out to be subtraction. After adding synths, sound effects, layers, a completely reworked melody, and a guitar riff converted to synth, Zegans and her collaborators eventually peeled most of it back and let the song be what it wanted to be: jarring, rhythmic, slow-burning, and odd. El Kempner of Palehound plays guitar on it, which helps.

The third and final single from the album lands ahead of Engraving of Armor’s May 22 release on Exploding in Sound. Co-produced with bassist and synth player Alex MacKay (Cutouts, Nation of Language) and drummer Julian Fader (Remember Sports, Ava Luna), the record was built from home demos of guitar, vocal, and drum loops — a new approach for Zegans that gave the songs a steady rhythmic pulse and opened up a different way of writing. Nine tracks moving between fiery rock, experimental folk, and psychedelia, all circling the strange architecture of an emotional fortress.

Zegans has lived in Ridgewood for seven years, surrounded by musicians and venues, and New York seeps into the record in ways both obvious and subtle — the urban self-numbing, the endless distractions, the strange tenderness of loving something that can also overwhelm you. Engraving of Armor sits in conversation with Autolux, Sonic Youth, Nick Drake, and Fontaines D.C. without sounding like any of them. Album release show is May 29 at Union Pool in Brooklyn. Pre-order below.

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