CD Release - Cinema verite

Since March 2005, Shock Cinema has progressed through the fashions and follies of the post-punk rerun scene by churning out a paranoid swagger wrapped in swirling images of violence. Through it all, existential distress laces vocalist Jennifer Rehm’s sultry howls. A framework of angular guitar assaults and shifting rhythms build around her voice, evoking artists from Can to Glass Candy. And when guitarist Autry Fulbright explains that his first musical pairing with Rehm came when they learned to cover Glass Candy’s “Crystal Migraine,” the genetic hangover in songs like “The Hall,” “The Bounty” and “The Escape” becomes clear.

Rounded out by bassist Ian Cone and drummer Tak Takemura, Shock Cinema’s natural evolution has pushed the group toward a literal interpretation of its name with the addition of projectionist Jess Bowling.

On stage, the group’s instrument-playing members stand shrouded in darkness. Behind them, Bowling unleashes a montage of horrific scenes from films like A Clockwork Orange, Psycho, The Shining, Silence of the Lambs and various other film grotesqueries that stir a sense of uneasiness within the audience.

“There’s a cinematic translation that happens in the music,” Bowling explains. “When you’re seeing this performed live, you get a dueling narrative, and that collision of what you see and what you hear informs the shock of the band.”

In July, the group will release an EP on Chicago-based Thick Records titled Amor Y Muerte, featuring five original songs plus remixes by members of Death From Above 1979, Q and Not U, Pretty Girls Make Graves and others.

In the meantime, live performances are the only way to capture the group’s truly cinematic nature. “I see a lot of confusion in the audience,” Bowling says. “Folks come out to see a band and have a good time, and when they see these videos being put to our music, they’re provoked. Frankly, I enjoy seeing that kind of disorientation, and a lot of people are coming back to see the show.”

Shock Cinema plays the Earl with I Am The World Trade Center and Boulevard Sat., Feb. 18, 9:30 p.m. $8. 488 Flat Shoals Ave. 404-522-3950. www.badearl.com. Hear Shock Cinema on this week’s Earshot Atlanta at www.earshotatlanta.com.