Sama Dams share infectious new single "Principle of Loving"

Portland, OR trio Sama Dams share their new single "Principle of Loving" today via The Spill Magazine. The confidently sleek and smooth R&B New Wave sounding track is available to hear and share HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

Few bands command the unexpectedly fine line that divides tension and release like Sama Dams does. And it's no wonder: songwriters Sam and Lisa Adams have been playing music together for over a decade -- as long as they have been married -- developing a creative forthrightness that sometimes feels voyeuristic. Taking cues from jazz, R&B, new wave, indie-rock, and classical art song, the alt-rock trio weaves a sensuous musical fabric that is distinctly theirs.

Much like the Dirty Projectors or Thom Yorke, Sama Dams's high art sensibilities are wrapped around a subversive knotty core of uncompromized radicalism -- like if Leonard Bernstein was signed to K Records. In that way, the DIY ethos of the Pacific Northwest has shaped much of the band's path forward since graduating music school in 2008 and relocating to Portland in 2012.

Sama Dams' fourth and most recent full-length album, Say It surprises you with its gritty yet precise instrumentation, striking a keen balance between reserve and power, from wiley "Neil-Young-riding-a-rocket-sled" electric guitar riffs and mutant waves of organ to distorted ukulele and cut-up-on-the-spot breakbeats. The Portland Mercury said "Say It is an endlessly fascinating sonic concoction, and a confident step forward for Sama Dams." What should be a series of stylistic contradictions results in each song firmly standing its ground as an interwoven compositional masterpiece, bending and twisting with eclectic abandon.

The band's sprawling sonic footprint is held together by their dynamic vocal power - an alternate-reality vocal pairing of Kate Bush and Jeff Buckley. Sam and Lisa's combined proficiencies and unique approaches to songwriting merge with the brilliant percussive work of drummer Micah Hummel, creating a matchless sound in live settings as well as in the studio.

Sama Dams can regularly be found gracing stages, music festivals, and living rooms across the United States and Central Europe, their music finding a place in the hearts of both music enthusiasts and general audiences alike with their intelligent arrangements, catchy melodies, and playful musicality.

The band's new single "Principle of Loving" will be available Sept 20th via Portland collective label Self Group on all digital platforms as well a limited 7" picture disc. Sama Dams will be supporting the release with tours of the west coast (fall) and Europe (spring 2020). 

SAMA DAMS LIVE 2019:

09/25 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios

09/27 La Grande, OR @ Side A Brewing

09/28-29 Moscow, ID @ Modest Music Fest

Artist: Sama Dams

Album:  Principle of Loving EP

Label:  Self Group

Release Date: September 20th, 2019

01. Principle of Loving

On The Web:

sama-dams.com

samadams.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/sama_dams

WARISH premiere video for "Bleed Me Free" from new album, tour starts tomorrow!

"Remember when indie rock sounded all grimy, corroded and metal-sludgy -- the last thing you'd hear in a commercial or being played at an arena show? Warish do. It's music to the ears of anyone who wants to damage their ears." -- Rolling Stone

"Warish totally rules... An awesome mixture of punk energy, biker rock fuzz, and grunge growl." -- Kerrang!

"Sludgy and punk-y at the same time, with an Iggy and the Stooges meets Misfits vibe, plus a bit of stoner rock and metal mixed in, as well." -- Consequence of Sound

Southern California trio Warish premiere the first official video from their just-released full length debut Down In Flames today via Revolver Magazine. Watch and share the video, shot entirely on Super 8 film, "Bleed Me Free" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Rolling Stone previously hailed Warish as a Song You Need To Know feature HERE. Metal Injection shared the full album stream HERE (Direct YouTube.)  Warish hit the road this week in support of the album with San Francisco stoner rock progenitors Acid King, who reissued their legendary Busse Woods album on RidingEasy on August 30th. Please see all dates below. Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You'd have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.  Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they'd done previously. "We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show," Riley explains. "A little more punk, a little bit of grunge... a little evil-ish." Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk's effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow's tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain's and Buzz Osbourne's wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band's uh, warlike assault. Down In Flames is available on LP, CD and download, released on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Available to order in all formats HERE.

WARISH LIVE 2019:

09/20 Portland, OR @ Star Theater - Hesh Fest *

09/21 Seattle, WA @ Highline *

09/23 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * 

09/24 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown *

09/25 Chicago, IL @ Reggies * 

09/26 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle *

09/27 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *

09/28 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place *

09/29 Boston, MA @ Sonia *

09/30 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory * 

10/01 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's *

10/02 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall *

10/03 Raleigh, NC @ Kings *

10/04 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *

10/05 Atlanta, GA @ The 529 *

10/06 New Orleans, LA @ One Eye Jack's *

10/07 Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey *

10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister *

10/10 Mesa, AZ @ Club Red *

10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite *

10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Chapel *

11/09 Austin, TX @ Levitation Fest

* w/ Acid King

Artist: Warish
Album: Down In Flames

Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: September 13th, 2019

01. Healter Skelter

02. You’ll Abide

03. Big Time Spender

04. Bleed Me Free

05. In A Hole

06. Bones

07. Voices

08. Fight

09. Shivers

10. Runnin' Scared

11. Their Demise

On The Web:

instagram.com/warish.usa

facebook.com/Warishband

ridingeasyrecs.com

Firebreather premiere new track from forthcoming RidingEasy debut via Metal Sucks, tour w/ Monolord in October

"Firebreather veer towards roaring, High On Fire-esque sludge, and they’ve got the chops and the grit to pull this kind of thing off." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"Scorching hot riffs, stomach-churning bellows, lightning-fried drums and intestine-rattling bass... The souls of all MetalSucks staffers have been incinerated through one mere listen of this track." -- Metal Sucks

"A thrilling style of Progressive Sludge/Stoner Metal that will rank as one of the best albums of the year." -- Outlaws Of The Sun

Swedish trio Firebreather share a third track from their forthcoming debut on RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon today, via Metal Sucks. Hear and share "Our Souls, They Burn" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Brooklyn Vegan previously hosted the lead single "Dancing Flames" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Fire is what happens when a carbon based object is consumed by oxygen. That chemical reaction is fitting to the sound of Firebreather: The riffs are suffocating, the rhythms fast moving and all-consuming. It's so blindingly and deafeningly monolithic, don't be surprised to find yourself gasping for air while listening.

The Gothenburg, Sweden trio has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Like watching flames engulf a forest, the billowing guitar tones are simultaneously beautiful and destructive, while the rhythms sway and lunge with vicious precision.

"It's riff based, heavy as fuck, but with a groove to it," explains vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd, formerly of popular Swedish doom merchants Galvano. "We had gotten off a tour with Monolord in February of 2018 and by that time we had the song 'Firebreather' done," but soon thereafter new drummer Axel Wittbeck joined the fold.

"Once Axel had joined, it was like the flood gates opened," says bassist Kyle Pitcher. "The rest of the album just came together." Under a Blood Moon was recorded at Elementstudion in Gothenburg with engineer Oskar Karlsson, who also recorded the band's lauded 2017 self-titled debut on Suicide Records. 

Album opener "Dancing Flames" sets the stage for the onslaught to come with a slinking, serpentine riff over slow churning rhythms. Nööjd's hushed, gravelly vocals sink into the mix, more like a baritone guitar than a human voice. "Our Souls, They Burn" nicely exemplifies the band's furious grind that makes even faster tempo songs sound impossibly heavy, like a slow motion stampede. Elsewhere, "We Bleed" perfectly sums up the band's focus on the riff and groove, honing in on the power of hypnotic attrition. Closing epic, "The Siren" opens with lugubrious, slightly swinging drums and rumbling bass building tension over delay- and phaser-soaked guitar harmonics, until a massive, sliding riff crashes headlong into the proceedings. The song seems to cleverly shape shift across several harmonic and rhythmic parts, without losing the core groove underneath. A short pause for breath, then it's off to the races with a galloping crescendo for succinct closure. 

Under a Blood Moon will be available on LP, CD and download September 27th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available HERE.

FIREBREATHER LIVE 2019:

Sep 20 Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus w/ Halshug

Oct 01 Utrecht, NL @ De Helling *

Oct 02 Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4 *

Oct 03 Pratteln, CH @ Up In Smoke Festival *

Oct 04 Reims, FR @ La Cartonnerie *

Oct 05 Paris, FR @ Saturday Mud Fever Festival *

Oct 07 Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard *

Oct 08 Nuremberg, DE @ Z-Bau *

Oct 09 Cologne, DE @ Helios 37 *

Oct 10 Mainz, DE @ Schon Schon *

Oct 11 Hamburg, DE @ Molotow *

Oct 16 Oslo, NO @ John Dee *

Oct 17 Gothenburg, SE @ Sticky Fingers *

Oct 18 Malmo, SE @ Babel *

Oct 23 Linkoping, SE @ The Crypt *

Oct 24 Stockholm, SE @ Close Up Baten *

Oct 25 Tampere, FI @ Olympia *

Oct 26 Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi *

* w/ Monolord

Artist: Firebreather Album: Under a Blood Moon Label: RidingEasy Records Release date: September 27th, 2019 01. Dancing Flames 02. Our Souls, They Burn  03. Closed Gate 04. Firebreather 05. We Bleed 06. The Siren On the Web: facebook.com/Firebreathergbg firebreatherdoom.bandcamp.com ridingeasyrecs.com

Ether Feather share surreal cinematic video for "New Abyss"

L.A. hooky psych by Mike Patton band, Man Man, Lydia Lunch band members 

"Built upon Ryan's impeccable drumming, it is buoyed by delightfully aggressive bass lines and Young's searing guitar work. It asks to imagine a fusion between progressive rock of the 1970s and the blues-based heavy rock of acts such as Budgie and Pentagram while sounding thoroughly up-to-date." -- PopMatters

"Stole my heart from the moment I pushed play. Dreamy vox...Toggling between dark doom and a decidedly acid-soaked psychedelic dream-pop direction. The rhythm section is stellar and the sound is brilliantly captured... I could see this becoming a beloved go-to in my collection." -- Doomed & Stoned

"What would happen if you took the doom stylings of Black Sabbath and Kyuss, the proggy weirdness of Captain Beefheart, and the jazzy insanity of Mahavishnu Orchestra? There's only one answer, and it's the Los Angeles-based trio Ether Feather." -- Metal Injection

L.A. trio Ether Feather share a very clever video today inspired by Italian thriller cinema for the song "New Abyss" from their newly released full length debut. Watch and share the video alongside an astute review of the album courtesy of The Obelisk HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Metal Injection recently shared a full stream of the Devil - Shadowless - Hand album HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.) Doomed & Stoned previously shared "Cayenne" HERE. And, PopMatters launched "Your Half In The Middle" HERE. 

What resides in the ether? Floating like a lead balloon in Ether Feather’s inverse universe is the meeting point between Black Sabbath, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Kyuss and Captain Beefheart. 

The Los Angeles trio’s sound is a weighty, swinging brand of desert rock influenced heft informed by elements of No Wave, free jazz and post-punk. It’s not jammy for jam’s sake, nor is it neo-jazzbo navel gazing - it’s crafty and astute, head-bobbing thud with a flair for tasteful melodic quirks. 

Ether Feather is the brainchild of L.A.-by-way-of-Chicago drummer/vocalist Dylan Ryan, who has also played with Man Man, Cursive, Red Krayola and more. The newly minted trio includes guitarist Tim Young (guitarist on the Late Late Show and studio player: Todd Rundgren, Mike Patton, Fiona Apple) and bassist Sylvia Black (Lydia Lunch.) The band arose from a previous incarnation called SAND, featuring Ryan and Young, which had released two albums in 2013 and 2014 respectively. 

“By the time I started writing the third Sand record, it became clear the music was shifting from the Mahavishnu-esque mid 70's-fusion to more part-oriented structures and the songs seemed to want vocals,” Ryan explains. Encouraged by engineer Andrew Murdock (Alice Cooper, Lou Barlow) while tracking new songs, the band embraced stylistic shifts and emerged anew with an EP, Other Memory in 2017. After touring that material a couple of times with bands like Cursive and Minus the Bear, Ether Feather further honed its sound to form the hook laden 8-track debut album, Devil - Shadowless - Hand.

“Ether Feather is definitely a band where we can try weirder stuff and stretch out creatively in ways that may not be appropriate in other musical situations,” Ryan says. “We can mix and blend aesthetics and make hard turns. Tim was in the Pacific Northwest during the first wave of grunge and brings something very different from me to the table, having come up in the late 90's Chicago No Wave/Free Jazz/Metal scene.” 

Album opener “Falconer” pits a chugging Helmet-eque guitar riff against Ghost-like harmonies and indie rock rhythms before busting open with a beautiful stadium rock guitar solo. Elsewhere, “Your Half In the Middle” floats along, led by the Byrds-esque vocal harmonies of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” with similar juxtaposition of melody and ominous tones. “New Abyss” flexes the band’s jazz chops, but moreso in the manner of Richard Hell & The Voidoids or the Minutemen waxing prog-punk. Throughout, every song is full of surprising and enchanting musical twists that keep each song exciting and demanding repeat listens. 

Devil - Shadowless - Hand is available to stream and download, released on September 6th, 2019. 

Artist: Ether Feather

Album: Devil - Shadowless - Hand

Label: Ether Feather

Release date: September 6th, 2019

01. Falconer

02. Interstellar

03. Haggard Hawk

04. New Abyss

05. Cayenne

06. Dawn of Orion

07. Your Half In The Middle

08. The Ultimate Halcyon

On the Web:

facebook.com/etherfeatherband

etherfeather.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/etherfeatherband

WARISH streaming RidingEasy Records debut full length ahead of release via Metal Injection

"Remember when indie rock sounded all grimy, corroded and metal-sludgy -- the last thing you'd hear in a commercial or being played at an arena show? Warish do. It's music to the ears of anyone who wants to damage their ears." -- Rolling Stone

"Warish totally rules... An awesome mixture of punk energy, biker rock fuzz, and grunge growl." -- Kerrang!

"Sludgy and punk-y at the same time, with an Iggy and the Stooges meets Misfits vibe, plus a bit of stoner rock and metal mixed in, as well." -- Consequence of Sound

Southern California trio Warish are streaming their forthcoming full length debut Down In Flames in its entirety today ahead of release via Metal Injection. Hear and share the full album HERE (Direct YouTube HERE.)

Loudwire recently premiered the lead single "Healter Skelter" HERE, Rolling Stone previously hailed Warish as a Song You Need To Know feature HERE. 

Warish hit the road this month in support of the album with San Francisco stoner rock progenitors Acid King, who reissued their legendary Busse Woods album on RidingEasy on August 30th. Please see all dates below.

Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You'd have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish. 

Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they'd done previously.

"We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show," Riley explains. "A little more punk, a little bit of grunge... a little evil-ish."

Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk's effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow's tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain's and Buzz Osbourne's wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band's uh, warlike assault.

Down In Flames will be available on LP, CD and download on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

WARISH LIVE 2019:

09/20 Portland, OR @ Star Theater - Hesh Fest *

09/21 Seattle, WA @ Highline *

09/23 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * 

09/24 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown *

09/25 Chicago, IL @ Reggies * 

09/26 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle *

09/27 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *

09/28 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place *

09/29 Boston, MA @ Sonia *

09/30 New York, NY @ Knitting Factory * 

10/01 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's *

10/02 Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall *

10/03 Raleigh, NC @ Kings *

10/04 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *

10/05 Atlanta, GA @ The 529 *

10/06 New Orleans, LA @ One Eye Jack's *

10/07 Dallas, TX @ Gas Monkey *

10/09 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister *

10/10 Mesa, AZ @ Club Red *

10/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Satellite *

10/12 San Francisco, CA @ Chapel *

11/09 Austin, TX @ Levitation Fest

* w/ Acid King

Artist: Warish
Album: Down In Flames

Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: September 13th, 2019

01. Healter Skelter

02. You’ll Abide

03. Big Time Spender

04. Bleed Me Free

05. In A Hole

06. Bones

07. Voices

08. Fight

09. Shivers

10. Runnin' Scared

11. Their Demise

On The Web:

instagram.com/warish.usa

facebook.com/Warishband

ridingeasyrecs.com

Jail Weddings share "I Must Keep My Woman Happy" single, announce tour dates

"Bombastic songs that walk the line between Nick Cave and Springsteen covering 'Lipstick Traces (on A Cigarette).' It’s a party, of sorts." -- Noisey

" A marriage between the Dream Syndicate, X, and the smoldering sounds of classic English post-punk, the tune is smart, energetic and more than worth the wait." -- PopMatters

L.A. psych-punk noir group Jail Weddings today share a new single from their first new album in 5 years, Wilted Eden via Ghost Cult Magazine. Hear and share "I Must Keep My Woman Happy" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.) 

Proto-punk legend Tav Falco (of Tav Falco's Panther Burns) recently featured the single "(I Can't Wait To Get To) Nowhere" via the Talkhouse HERE. Falco writes:

"A melodic cathedral of angst that Gun Club could have only dreamed of. When you ratchet up Roland Howard about 10 notches, you approach the whirling, schizoid-edged Theremin hexed tones and the savageries of Gabriel Hart's infernal scream." -- Tav Falco

Jail Weddings recently shared the lead single, a live show fan favorite for the past couple of years, "Do Anything You Want To Me" via PopMatters, Bandcamp and YouTube.

LA Weekly voted the band's previous album Meltdown -- A Declaration of Unpopular Emotion the #1 Album of the Year for 2014, and the group Band of the Year as well. 

Wilted Eden, the expansive third album by L.A.'s tarnished romantics Jail Weddings is one of those rare albums recorded in "real time" chronicling the intersection between the whirlwind birth and eventual death of new love, along with the sudden unforeseen deaths of loved ones. Still standing in their 10th dizzying year, the Wall of Sound provocateurs return anew with an emotionally and musically charged 12-song epic. 

The result is the sound of a veteran band that is now doing whatever the hell they want after a decade of tempering (and coining) a unique sub-genre often called death doo-wop. While a line-up change also opened new horizons, the group found the time and freedom to experiment in the studio with no gun to their heads - deploying guitar feedback, Theremin, analog synth, and skronking saxophone to their usual street-poetic, swollen-knuckle pop. Think of The Waterboys expansive "Big Music" sound on brown acid and you might come close.

Wilted Eden begins cinematic, but with what almost sounds like a closing credits theme - the title track is apocalyptic folk at its most definitive, as Hart's own minor chord three-part harmonies bring to mind The Byrds soaring over Death In June. It quickly ramps up with the driving rocker "Do Anything You Want To Me," a dare of absolute surrender that feels like The Smiths rhythm section backing up Steve Wynn. "Nowhere" is the full-tilt cowpunk barn-burner of the record, calling up ghosts of The Gun Club sharing a carnival stage with Freddy Cannon. Don't let the sweet title of "Face of Kindness" fool you - as it contains one of the more blue double-entendres on the album. "Blood Moon Blue" is pure unnerving ecstasy, wailing feedback over Lynchian twang like Rowland S. Howard fronting a lounge-lizard exotica act. "Skin Invocation" is a sexual revolution in just under 6-minutes, where singer/bandleader Gabriel Hart duets with back-up singer Mary Animaux; both of them seeing the athlete of pleasure in everyone before guitarist Anthony Cozzi dogfights with Hart's sax to climax. And if you're still on board until the very, very bitter end of what has proved to be a very loaded album, "Love Me Like I'm Dead" will give you a nine-minute stark testimony of just how far this once-in-a-lifetime, genre-thrashing band has come, If, that is, you haven't already run for the hills yourself...

Wilted Eden will be available on LP, CD and download on September 20th, 2019 via Tru-Vow Recordings, and on cassette via Burger Records. Preorders are available HERE. 

JAIL WEDDINGS LIVE 2019:

09/24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Satellite - Album release show

09/25 San Francisco, CA @ The Honey Hive

09/26 Reno, NV @ The Bluebird

09/27 Portland, OR @ Twilight Cafe

09/28 Seattle, WA @ The Lo-Fi

09/29 Eugene, OR @ Old Nick's Pub

09/30 Sacramento, CA @ The Press Club

10/01 Albany, CA @ The Ivy Room

Artist: Jail Weddings Album:  Wilted Eden Label: Tru-Vow Recordings Release Date: September 20th, 2019 01. Wilted Eden 02. Do Anything You Want To Me 03. (I Can't Wait To Get To) Nowhere 04. Face of Kindness 05. Blood Moon Blue 06. Skin Invocation 07. Do You Really Want The World? 08. Quality of Mercy 09. Many Fires Burning 10. A Haunted Song 11. I Must Keep My Woman Happy 12. Love Me Like I'm Dead On The Web: www.facebook.com/JailWeddings jailweddings.bandcamp.com  instagram.com/jailweddings jailweddings.net