Apex Manor Previews Heartbreak City With New Track “Actual Size”

On May 31, Apex Manor will release a new album, Heartbreak City, via Merge Records. Ahead of Heartbreak City‘s release, the Ross Flournoy-fronted project has shared a new album track, “Actual Size.”

The dark, woozy track blends brooding shoegaze and industrial rock to hypnotic effect, and is brought to life by Flournoy’s subtle, thoughtful lyrics (“I knew that our love was built on a fault line”). As Flournoy describes it, “‘Actual Size’ underwent the most radical transformation from its demo version to final version,” beginning “more aggressive” and eventually becoming a “pulsing, almost hypnotic piece of music.”

“At its core, it’s a song about not being understood (or at least feeling like you’re not being understood),” he explains. “But the narrator here sounds untrustworthy to me — the kind of guy who thinks he’s made himself clear but hasn’t, the kind of guy filled with self-pity and unearned feelings of aggrievement.”

Flournoy recorded Heartbreak City in just under two weeks with drummer Dan Allaire and bassist/producer Rob Barbato. Courtney Jaye and Meg Duffy make guest appearances on Heartbreak City.

Listen to “Actual Size” below.