MP3: “Blue and Silver” –
Swarming guitar fuzz, bass waves, Jana Hunter’s voice, and insistent drum throbs are the core components of Baltimore’s Lower Dens. Hunter, sometimes known for intimate, ghost-heavy weird-fi, is now writing and playing with a group that might get filed as new wave, or drone pop, or post-punk. With due deference to her solo work, we’re very glad.
The swarming wave-throb, coupled with Hunter’s lyrics and redolent, charred voice, wrecks. The band’s upcoming record, Twin-Hand Movement, is eleven perfect songs long. From opener “Blue & Silver” (anxiety
mounts at a quick clip until the final climactic release) to “Plastic & Powder” (a churning, narcotic slow-burner) to “Hospice Gates” (penultimate album cut, proud weirdo anthem, possible creative zenith), not one is a space-taker. They’re rife with the survivalist paranoia you’d expect from residents of a post-urban port hole (and this particular songwriter), crafted methodically and beautifully, and carry you enthusiastically out into the rolling breaks of industrial filth-water.
Lower Dens formed in 2009, when Hunter set about finding a full-time band. They spent the rest of the year sweating in attics and basements, and only stepped out of the shadows to do a quick tour and record. Twin-Hand Movement was recorded by Chris Freeland (ex-Oxes drummer; proprietor of Beat Babies, Baltimore), mixed by Chris Coady (at his DNA, NYC), and mastered by Sarah Register (of the Lodge, NYC and the band Talk Normal.)
LOWER DENS
09/24 Cincinnati, OH – Midpoint Music Festival
10/19 Baltimore, MD – The Ottobar *
10/20 – 10/23 New York, NY – CMJ
10/26 Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox $
10/27 Detroit, MI – Magic Stick $
10/28 Bloomington, IN – The Bishop $
10/29 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall $
10/30 Grinnell, IA – Grinnell College Gardner Lounger $
11/02 Seattle, WA – Crocodile Cafe $
11/03 Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge $
11/05 San Francisco, CA – The Independent $
11/07 Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour $
11/09 San Diego, CA – Casbash $
11/10 Tucson, AZ – Club Congress $
$ = w/ Bear in Heaven
* = w/ Woven Bones
Lower Dens
Twin-Hand Movement
(Gnomonsong)
Street date: July 20, 2010
1. Blue & Silver
2. Tea Lights
3. A Dog’s Dick
4. Holy Water
5. I Get Nervous
6. Completely Golden
7. Plastic & Powder
8. Rosie
9. Truss Me
10. Hospice Gates
11. Two Cocks
LOWER DENS LINKS:
MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/lowerdens
Press Materials – http://www.gnomonsong.com/lowerdens/