Seattle’s MUSEUM OF LIGHT Unveils ‘Born All Wrong’, the third single off upcoming sophomore album Diviner, out March 14
Drummer Rob Smith says, “As with much of Diviner, ‘Born All Wrong’ is a continuation of all the things that interested us on our first record, just taken further. The heavy stuff is heavier, the pretty stuff is prettier, and the weird stuff is weirder. The song dives into some of the expanded sonic palette that sets this record apart from Horizon. Here, we used a new, lower tuning, replaced some of the synth parts with a human voice (Elissa Alvarez, who is all over this record), and even mixed in some of the crashing waves and sea birds we heard outside the studio window as we worked. The big riff that anchors the first half of the song was written several years ago when we were between bassists. So, we were leaning more on huge, monolithic ideas that sounded good with the guitar running through both guitar and bass amps at the same time. As one of the older songs on the album, we weren’t sure if if was going to make the cut, but as soon as we heard playbacks in the studio, we all had the same thought: ‘well, that’s definitely making the record.’”
Museum Of Light’s sound blends crushing, heavy swagger with ethereal, sparkling melodies, creating a dynamic, otherworldly atmosphere that combines raw intensity with haunting, operatic vocals and poetic, existential lyrics.
Seattle’s Calm Collapse Release ‘Welfare Tour’, the next single off the forthcoming album Mirrored Nature, out on November 25th.
Featuring a Roster of Indie Rock Nobility: Doug Lorig (Roadside Monument), Rob Smith (Traindodge, Museum of Light), Jon Pease (Medicine Bows)
Recorded With Matt Bayles (Botch, Mastodon, Minus The Bear)
Listen here:
Featuring a roster of indie rock nobility, Calm Collapse is comprised of Doug Lorig (Roadside Monument Patrol, Raft of Dead Monkeys) on guitar/vocals, Rob Smith (Traindodge, Museum of Light) on drums/keys, and Jon Pease (Medicine Bows) on bass. After meeting at a show in Seattle, Lorig and Smith began to build the framework for what would ultimately become the band’s debut record, Mirrored Nature. "From the early days we documented and cataloged almost every riff, song idea, arrangement, tweak, etc., iterating through so many changes to create a finalized version of these songs," says Pease, who solidified the band’s lineup shortly after its inception. "Everything that is heard on this record is extremely intentional. Not to say that we didn’t experiment or have happy accidents in the recording process. But we combed through and dissected all of our parts to craft something with intention." The sonic result is driving, angsty, and propulsive, but still open and spacious. The grind of Melvins, the melodic discernment of Chavez, and the ethereal tendencies of Grails and Black Mountain.
With so much experience and groundwork laid with previous projects, a guiding force for Calm Collapse was continuing to chart familiar waters, but in a new and fresh direction. "For me, the last couple of bands that I’ve been in have generally been more heavy than other previous projects I’ve done. But with this project, I didn’t want it to be one-dimensional," says Lorig. "It’s generally the kind of music that I’ve been writing for years. Songwriting has always been a tedious process for me. I generally write in bunches but with long lapses in between, so some of these songs or parts have been kicking around for several years — I just needed the right couple of guys to be able to finally flesh these ideas out." Smith adds, "[Doug’s] ideas are by and large more rhythmically and harmonically complex than my other bands, so sometimes he needs to just play them for a while before I can find a way in. It can be weeks of messing with an idea before it takes the shape of a song." The result of this project is a propulsive and heavy listening experience, punctuated by memorable melodies and cinematic and ambient arrangements. "Even though a lot of our album is on the heavier side, we did not want to trap ourselves in," says Lorig. "The album goes in several directions — we did not want to follow the common things that heavy bands seem to do. We all had a common goal to write songs that had movement and took us places."
In order to bring Mirrored Nature to life, the band brought in acclaimed producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Foxing, Isis) to help execute the vision. "We knew for our music to come across convincingly that the record had to be produced at a higher level. This is why we went with Matt Bayles. I have worked with Matt on a previous couple other projects over the years, so I knew what we were going to be getting. I can say that it definitely was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done — quite the contrast, it was probably the hardest record that I’ve done, but the end product is everything that I had hoped it would be. It sounds huge and expansive," says Lorig. "Matt definitely challenged us to a high standard during the production phase, but it paid off in a huge way," says Pease. "I think because we were so invested and prepared to craft this record, Matt stepped up to meet us there. He really put in a lot of care and detail in the recording, mixing, and production phases that makes this record sound as great as it does."
With time comes perspective, and even after a number storied releases, tours, and iterations, Calm Collapse represents another evolution for the trio. A chance to disassemble the artistic past, evaluate what worked, and reassemble with a new perspective. "It has been my passion since I was a little kid to create music," says Lorig, "and that passion still lives on to this day as I’ve gotten older. I still love the process of creating, recording, and playing music live. Part of it also has been that I feel I can always one-up the last project that I was in. [Mirrored Nature] is probably my proudest achievement — but I’m definitely looking forward to trying to get even better on the next record."
Seattle, WA’s Museum of Light just dropped ‘Drug School’ the second single off the band’s debut album Horizon, scheduled for release on June 10th, and recorded with Kowloon Walled City’s Scott Evans (Thrice, Heiress, Thou, Sleep).
Limited edition vinyl pre-orders for the album are currently available at spartanrecords.com and include an instant download of the single.
Listen to ‘Drug School’ here:
On Horizon the trio (which notably includes Rob Smith of Traindodge fame on drums) expertly balances the opposing worlds of heavy and ambient music; Equal parts big, crushing, overwhelmingly heavy riffs and dreamy, Zen-like washes of ambience and found sound.
Guitarist/vocalist Ted Alvarez explains, "Those would seem to be incompatible, but the more we played, the more we realized those two things could mesh, and could be incredibly appealing to us. For us, both are coming from places of joy, pleasure, and serenity as opposed to anger or rage. Don’t get us wrong — there’s plenty of wonderful aggressive music that comes from those places. But there sure is a lot of it already. This stuff should be a release to listen to and certainly to play, and that’s ultimately a positive vibe."
Smith adds, "We are massive fans of complexity and wonderfully dense and abstruse music, and I think there are some surprising ways in which that sneaks out. But we placed that immediacy at the forefront."
Horizon was recorded at Sharkbite Studios and Anti-Sleep Studios in Oakland, CA with Kowloon Walled City’s Scott Evans (Thrice, Heiress, Thou, Sleep).
Aural Aggravation 