I found this band on Brooklyn Vegan and I’ve been waiting for this album to come out ever since I heard they were working on it. The time has finally arrived!! All of the band members are top shelf musicians but Jessica is outstanding as the band leader, multi instrumentalist and vocalist. their live shows are outstanding. Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver will return with new album,Secrets, on February 19th via the band’s own High Beam Records. Frontperson Jessica Dobson, who has played in The Shins and Beck’s band, is an adept guitarist with a powerful voice and strong sense of dynamics, as can be heard on Secrets’
Let yourself be swept away by this stunning, meditative clip for Chastity Belt’s “Lydia,” off of their widely-acclaimed 2015 album Time to Go Home.
The not-so-secret weapon wielded on Seattle punk groupChastity Belt‘s second album is performative lassitude. Time To Go Home is full of slow, hazy songs whose tempos and degrees of exerted energy are an exact inversion of their weighty subject matter. Feminist political statements are couched in eye rolls, designed to combat sexism by belittling it. The record is mellow, yet cohesive — so an interesting thing happens when one of those songs is plucked from its context and turned into a single, as is the case with “Lydia,” the video for which we’re premiering here: That languorous vibe comes across as downright pretty.
Chastity Belt’s music isn’t abrasive, and never ugly. But “Lydia” in particular uses a guitar line that approaches sunny, and is the only one of the album’s 10 tracks to feature LydiaLund’s vocals, which is softer than that of front woman Julia Shapiro. For the video, director Shaun Libman married the vulnerability and accessibility of Lund’s voice with equally dreamy visuals. Libman describes the artistry of the video’s set —constructed from hand-cut paper scenery, and filmed in striking black and white — as “an experiment. We were hoping we could shoot the paper in such a way that it would look dreamy and strange, both delicate and sturdy. Every shape and curve…embodies the emotional state of the main character.”
Time To Go Home is a punk album, and “Lydia” is a punk song. But Lund’s voice, as well as the song and video it inspired, have a softness and warm spaciousness that stand out from the rest of the record’s practiced cool.
Seattle’s La Luz play their hit song “You Disappear” for the Ethnic Cultural Hour. Things get weird. from One of my favorite albums of this year. This is the same surfy, harmony-rich La Luz that were sublime on their first LP, but now with even more energy and venom. In early 2015, La Luz adjourned to a surf shop in San Dimas, California where, with the help of producer-engineer Ty Segall, they realized the vision of capturing the band’s restless live energy and commiting it to tape. “Weirdo Shrine” finds them at their most saturated and cinematic — the sound of La Luz is (appropriately) vibrant, and alive with a kaleidoscopic passion
La Luz is a band in Seattle, WA, started in the summer of 2012 by Shana Cleveland (guitar), Marian Li Pino (drums), Alice Sandahl (keyboard) and Lena Simon (bass). Everyone sings. Songs by Shana and La Luz. a detour into a sunny California. The New album Weirdo Shrine has a Coachella melody. It vibrates your soul and wants you to stick your feet right into the sand and just chill out on the beach. This is what I would call a more suave female version of Cayucas. You would’ve thought they weren’t even from Seattle with these surfer rhythms and upbeat mood swings from calm to plain out Beating the drum. La Luz, in my opinion, will go down in history as the best all-female beach band.
Second mp3 single from the album “Weirdo Shrine”, the new Ty Segall-produced sophomore album by Seattle surf-rock group La Luz, out August 7th on Hardly Art Records. Surf-rock band La Luz’s sophomore album Weirdo Shrine will be released tomorrow, and even with a brief listen it’s clear that it’s an album with passion, skill, and intense emotion. Their track “Don’t Wanna Be Anywhere” seems to best showcase lead guitarist and vocalist Shana Cleveland’s effortless skills, especially considering the mellow, yet refined riffs embedded in flawless lo-fi sound. It’s definitely a track that begs to be understood, so multiple plays are definitely not out of order.
First single from Weirdo Shrine, the new Ty Segall-produced sophomore album by Seattle surf-rock group La Luz, out August 7th on Hardly Art records. What makes Weirdo Shrine interesting is that all this existential dread is wrapped up in classic-sounding surf rock, topped with enough “ooohhhs”, “aaahhhs”, and vocal harmonies to fill your girl group quota for an entire year. Lead singer and guitarist Shana Cleveland tosses out bright, airy guitar riffs, tinged with just the right amount of reverb, as easy as breathing. But the surfer girl guise is a front.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the ballad, “I’ll Be True”. Cleveland croons, “No one else treats me like you do/ And I’ll be true to you/ Just as long as you want me to,” while keyboardist Alice Sandahl tries to wrestle the good name of organ solos from the hands of Ray Manzarek. But the lingering effect of the song is not the declaration of loyalty, it’s the minor chord progression that blends with the ladies’ descending voices. It begs the question: If the love in the song is so pure and innocent then why does it come tinged with such eeriness?
La Luz recordedIt’s Alive in the back of their friend’s trailer. For Weirdo Shrine, producer Ty Segall constructed a makeshift studio out of an old surfboard factory. At first, this tactic can come across almost like a cheap gimmick, a soundbite for press releases. But once you realize Segall also chose to keep a persistent hissing overlay on the entire record (it’s hard to ignore once you hear it)—the occasional, lingering odd note or glitch will also tend to appear during the transitions between tracks—his methods become less a cute anecdote, and more a way to keep the group firmly grounded in their DIY roots. The ladies might have perfect pitch, but this is not an album for cleaning up mistakes.
It’s frustrating that the record doesn’t fully convey the energy of La Luz’s live shows, where the band members will crowd surf and request the audience make space for a line dance à la “Soul Train”. But if you choose to focus on LaLuz’s doo-wop harmonizing, then you’re only looking at the frilly, pink bow that tops the whole package. The undercurrent of darkness in La Luz’s music is what makes their work so fierce and intelligent. You could blink and miss their sneaky, underhanded way of slipping unease into their cheerful-sounding songs. Which is why you should give them more of your attention.
From the EP by Noah Gundersen, titled “Twenty-Something”. the 5 song EP we have been selling exclusively on tour from Singer-songwriter Noah Gundersen who released his excellent latest album ” Ledges”earlier this year, and while the momentum seems to continue pushing the Seattle native to city after city on a seemingly non-stop touring schedule, he has a couple more tracks up his sleeve. Gundersen has released “Twenty-Something”, a five-song EP of four originals and one cover, as a gift to his fans. The release will be for sale exclusively at his shows. Listen to the EP’s only cover, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” in the player above, it is now available online as part of a deluxe edition of Ledges. www.noahgundersenmusic.com.
Mamiffer is an ambient/doom/drone/dream pop duo from Seattle. The project started in 2008 as a piano project for multi-instrumentalist Faith Coloccia. She’s got a background in and a passion for metal and post-metal, but this isn’t that at all. Since 2009, her husband Aaron Turner has been in the band. He’s been the only other band member for a while now. He’s perhaps better known as the former frontman of the Los Angeles post-metal band Isis. They released five albums between 2000 and 2009, then disbanded in 2010. In Mamiffer, Turner is doing something closer to atmospheric dream pop, with some moody, cinematic flair suggestive of post-rock. Every photo and every video that I’ve seen suggest that when they perform, he plays while seated in a chair, and she seated on the floor. I dig it.
Mamiffer’s first album was Hirror Enniffer in 2008 (and re-released in 2013), followed by Mare Decendrii in 2012, and now Statu Nascendi last year. Don’t ask me what any of those album titles mean. They’ve also done a few collaborations and split albums with various post-metal bands. There’s a new album slated for release this year, but the only detail I know is that “(t)he piano is more present on the upcoming record.”.
It starts with a somber, sparse piano bit backed by a tiny bit of static and a very little bit of guitar. Later, Coloccia brings her quiet, soft voice. It’s not until the second half of the song that Turner’s guitars really come in. And it’s something much more like lovesliescrushing than the kind of stuff Turner used to play in his other bands.
Filmed on the band’s Spring 2015 tour, this new music video offers a candid look at life on the road with Seattle band Chastity Belt. “Joke” can be heard on Time to Go Home, out now on Hardly Art records.Take earplugs, tampons, eat air when you’re hungry and never look fanboys in the eye are the Seattle girl band’s top tips for taking the gruelling out of touring, Straight out of Seattle’s DIY scene are Chastity Belt – a slacker rock band made up of friends and females Julia Shapiro, Lydia Lund, Annie Truscott and Gretchen Grimm. Their new album, “Time to Go Home”, includes an anti-slut-shaming anthem Cool Slut. The band made the video themselves and it includes a lot of footage of gals being gals, drinking wine, skipping, dancing, playing the harp, roller blading and playing the clarinet – just your typical gal stuff.
Chastity Belt’s latest creation is “Joke”, another perfect depiction of modern femininity. In their new video – premiered below – the band give a snapshot of life on the road: drinking, driving, working out, sinking celebratory shots and taking selfies.But what else can we learn from Chastity Belt about being band chicks? To help us out, the band have knocked together a failsafe girl guide to tour survival.
What to eat while on the road
Touring can be tough on the body. You’re immobile for hours, and filling stations don’t provide the healthy, zero-sugar, low-cal, gluten-free, vegan snacks that girls like us require. To keep down the cals, when I’m feeling hungry I like to take in a big breath of air.
What to pack
Loads and loads of tampons! On the road, it’s hard to keep track of what day it is. You never know when Aunt Flow is coming to town. Our van is stocked with supersized tampons and jumbo pads, just in case Flow shows up uninvited with hefty suitcases.
How to get your beauty sleep
Make sure to pack plenty of earplugs and eye pillows. With these two key items, you can sleep wherever you want, whenever you want. Never resist the urge to fall asleep, no matter the situation. If you’re feeling tired at a show, take a nap in the back corner of a venue: anything to prevent those nasty bags under your eyes.
How to deal with fans
Avoid eye contact, especially with fanboys. Engaging with fans even the slightest bit gives them a false sense that you are on their level. You are NOT on their level. Fans are untamed animals. You have to teach them that you are completely superior if you expect them to idolise you. Unless they’re hot, actually. In which case, definitely go talk to them.
The band are about to embark on a US tour with Courtney Barnett, before headlining eight UK shows in October.
Ghosts I’ve Met is an authentically “Seattle” band in that the group, started in 2005 by Michigan transplant Sam Watts, ties in easily with the intricate local music community. Members of the band have either belonged to or worked with some of our favorite Washington acts including Modest Mouse, Fleet Foxes, J. Tillman, and Damien Jurado. While the band is firmly grounded in the Pacific Northwest, Watts’ writing often draws inspiration from his time visiting his grandparents in the Bay Area. You can recognize Watts from his signature fedora, given to him by his grandfather, visual artist Sam Richardson, who the group’s latest album is dedicated to. Watts follows Richardson’s legacy in his own artistic craft, which Michael Lerner (The Antlers) describes as “painting vivid pictures through… words.”
The quintet follows their 2011 full-length with The Shape of Space, an album that showcases Watts’ talent as a singer-songwriter and the band’s ability to overwhelm listeners with a reflective placidity. The album’s intimate title track has Watts yearning for closure. His reverbed voice evokes another favorite Northwest artist, Brandon Summers (The Helio Sequence), in its even delivery and sober tranquility. You can feel the subdued waves of sound lapping as you gladly sink further into this watery track.
King Dude & Chelsea Wolfe reunite to create another seven inch song of collaborative songs entitled “Sing More Songs Together…”. Like a goth version of Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra/ Dead Can Dance tribute band/ Nick Cave and PJ Harvey fantasy album” Its Like kindred spirits were meant to find each other in this and in many lives past. I always marvel at how Chelsea’s music fits the events in my life at the time it is released. And when her magical sensibility is combined with King Dude’s je ne sais quoi, the resulting music is catchy, brooding, soothing, and stirring. The track “Bed on Fire” is to die for .
Due out March 25th 2014 on Not Just Religious Music. Not Just Religious Music – A Seattle based record label intent on releasing quality over quantity
Side A: Be Free
Side B: Bed on Fire
Limited to 1000 copies:
500 black vinyl
300 white vinyl
200 blended white and black vinyl
Includes unlimited streaming of NJRM-002 King Dude & Chelsea Wolfe “Sing More Songs Together...” via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
The Fat Angel Sings 