I’ll try not to dramatize. Get ready for the musical equivalent of the famous Predator handshake, complete with subsequently-added nuclear explosion, and if the theatrical version had a third muscly limb slowly inserting a lubricated drumstick in between the two mutually grasping palms. Of course, the original was some sort of handshake-mid-air-arm-wrestle hybrid, so in order to replicate the competitive aspect, Britt Walford of Slint would have to start drumming some knots into the forearms of his now-official bandmates — all in the name of playful camaraderie! Because comrades they are and have been, leading to the more recent happenings that are the subject of this article.
Watter is the new band consisting of Zak Riles (Grails), mutli-instrumentalist Tyler Trotter, and the aforementioned Britt Walford of Slint (among other projects). So, while it might be slightly misleading to label this a true amalgam of Slint and Grails (for which atomic imagery might be more justified), the resulting music earns, perhaps, the expected description. This World, their debut LP out on May 27, is a “stunning combination of heady psychedelic rock, vintage cinematic New Age explorations, and sinister Krautrock,” according to a press release. The album was recorded in their collective studio in Louisville, KY. Okay? Kentucky!? Quit bugging me to give your state a shout-out.
Here’s a somewhat ethereal track off the new album, and beyond that, a few April dates with Om:
This World tracklisting:
01. Rustic Fog
02. Lord I Want More
03. Small Business
04. Bloody monday
05. Seawater
06. This World
04.16.14 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *
04.17.14 - Los Angeles, CA - Center for the Arts Eagle Rock *
04.18.14 - Phoenix, AZ - Crescent Ballroom *
04.19.14 - Albuquerque, NM - Sister *
04.20.14 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater *
* Om
• Grails: http://www.grailsongs.com
• Slint: https://www.facebook.com/Slint
&bull: Temporary Residence Ltd.: http://temporaryresidence.com