Bio:
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 debut 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
01/12 – Carrboro NC – Cat’s Cradle $
01/13 – Atlanta GA – Variety Playhouse $
01/14 – Asheville NC – Grey Eagle Tavern $
01/15 – Nashville TN – Exit In $
03/11 – Washington DC – The Black Cat !
03/15 – Norman OK – Opolis !
03/16 – 03/19 Austin TX – SXSW
! = w/ Wye Oak
$ = w/ The Walkmen
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Lower Dens
Batman
(Gnomonsong)
Street date: Jan. 18, 2011
1. Batman
2. Dear Betty Baby
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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/