Skin, by WILD POWWERS

Filmed at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle, WA by Oscar Contender

Skin

by WILD POWWERS

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wsredblack martin douglas pretty much covered it.

i just saw wild powwers open for witch, and the local kids held their own in the face of the satanists and hillbillies.

this album kicks ass. if i had to pigeonhole it, skin reminds me of old dinosaur, jr., or sebadoh.

they're more punk than grunge, i think, but they play their instruments insanely well. gomes is my pied piper, and he nails the essence of grunge pretty effortlessy. flores played barefoot at the croc. she hits hard, with grace and intens Favorite track: Skin.

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"I have my regrets, but I'm not dead"

Seattle’s “grunge babies” hit peak form on their upcoming third full-length album Skin, recorded and mixed by Billy Anderson (Melvins, Neurosis, Jawbreaker) and mastered by Ed Brooks, (Pearl Jam, Heart, REM). Fresh off of a couple of tours (with The Fall of Troy/Kylesa, and then Constant Lovers/Prism Tats), Wild Powwers gained cred as the upstart that “made you feel like you might want to smash some bottles down by the train tracks with your juvenile delinquent friends while skipping 5th period” (Stackked Magazine). They’ve since become regular show headliners and Skin is the flag that lets them stake their rightful claim to the throne.

Piercing through Wild Powwers’ psychedelic wall of sound is frontwoman Lara Hilgemann’s scream; it’d fit over any classic post-hardcore outfit, but it belts out arena-ready choruses here. These massive hooks feature largely on the album’s front end, sucking you into the downward-spiraling latter half, a dark pit you won’t want to crawl out of. There, the aptly-titled “Night Sweats” moves through stark post-punk to primal death rattle shrieks and into the finale
“Sad Sap”- the bleakest of ballads that recognizes sometimes you just have to lie in the bed
you’ve made. Skin runs the gamut through epic psych-sludge breakdowns (“Buff Stuff”),
straight-ahead rock (“Skin”), and even a nod to ‘50s pop slow dances (“May I Have This
Dance”). The impeccable vocal harmonies between Hilgemann and drummer/reincarnated-John Bonham Lupe Flores are glued together with Jordan Gomes’ rock solid, melodic bass work.

You see some shit if you gig nonstop and release three full-length records in four years. It’ll
roughen you around the edges. But if you “specialize in the sort of carefree grunge riff-rock that gets better the dirtier it gets” (KEXP), that’s like aging a fine whiskey. They may “have (their) regrets/But (they’re) not dead,” and Skin’s immaculate rawness is a testament to that.

Includes unlimited streaming of Skin via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Includes unlimited streaming of Skin via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

ships out within 5 days

$7 USD or more
"Skin" Colored Vinyl
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
12' Vinyl LP on colored vinyl, (colors may vary). Includes digital download with 2 Bonus Tracks.

"I have my regrets, but I'm not dead"

Seattle’s “grunge babies” hit peak form on their upcoming third full-length album Skin, recorded and mixed by Billy Anderson (Melvins, Neurosis, Jawbreaker) and mastered by Ed Brooks, (Pearl Jam, Heart, REM). Fresh off of a couple of tours (with The Fall of Troy/Kylesa, and then Constant Lovers/Prism Tats), Wild Powwers gained cred as the upstart that “made you feel like you might want to smash some bottles down by the train tracks with your juvenile delinquent friends while skipping 5th period” (Stackked Magazine). They’ve since become regular show headliners and Skin is the flag that lets them stake their rightful claim to the throne.

Piercing through Wild Powwers’ psychedelic wall of sound is frontwoman Lara Hilgemann’s scream; it’d fit over any classic post-hardcore outfit, but it belts out arena-ready choruses here. These massive hooks feature largely on the album’s front end, sucking you into the downward-spiraling latter half, a dark pit you won’t want to crawl out of. There, the aptly-titled “Night Sweats” moves through stark post-punk to primal death rattle shrieks and into the finale
“Sad Sap”- the bleakest of ballads that recognizes sometimes you just have to lie in the bed
you’ve made. Skin runs the gamut through epic psych-sludge breakdowns (“Buff Stuff”),
straight-ahead rock (“Skin”), and even a nod to ‘50s pop slow dances (“May I Have This
Dance”). The impeccable vocal harmonies between Hilgemann and drummer/reincarnated-John Bonham Lupe Flores are glued together with Jordan Gomes’ rock solid, melodic bass work.

You see some shit if you gig nonstop and release three full-length records in four years. It’ll
roughen you around the edges. But if you “specialize in the sort of carefree grunge riff-rock that gets better the dirtier it gets” (KEXP), that’s like aging a fine whiskey. They may “have (their) regrets/But (they’re) not dead,” and Skin’s immaculate rawness is a testament to that.

Includes unlimited streaming of Skin via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. ... more

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1.	Buff Stuff 04:22	lyrics	buy track
Look at the swell Out by the bell in the yard It’s hard not to notice Run for the hills Before it gets you and you’re gone You’re gone Oh baby you’re gone Isn’t it weird Seeing the steer by the shore There’s more out there by the stags Run for the rocks Before you’re lost over and gone You’re gone Oh baby so long
2.	Twins 04:10	lyrics	buy track
Back and forth, back and forth Behind the fog With your lit cigarette And the whiskey’s gone And I have my regrets, but I’m not dead But I’m still gone With all the pieces back together It’s somehow wrong Things have the cruelest way of Showing you love And every word you hang on has such a hold I know, I know where it’s from I know, I know where it’s from I know, I know where it’s from I know, I know where it’s from You will always be A twin to me I have always been Will be your twin
3.	Skin 03:26 video	lyrics	buy track
Here it comes up again Even now it tastes the same And I know it’s so good The second time it comes around, again I feel a change I’m feeling strange I’m the one you should’ve been afraid of when you’re sleeping at night. I’m not alright Here I am at the bar Drinking like I never have, before And it comes like a dog With its claws at the door Wanting more I feel a change I’m feeling strange I’m the one you should’ve been afraid of when you’re sleeping at night. I’m not alright
4.	May I Have This Dance? 04:15	lyrics	buy track
Hush Voice Keep it down You’re talking Too loud Way down low, crazy girl Way down low, crazy girl Touch Me Touch me anywhere It’s like fire Fire in my brain Way down low, crazy girl Way down low, crazy girl
5.	Well, Shit 03:36	lyrics	buy track
I wrote those words (Always wanted to be like you) Meant the note I left (No matter what I could do) I would like to go (Trying to keep track of you) Back and revise it (I tried) We were standing there in mid lane (Always wanted to be like you) Standing with our arms outstretched (No matter what I could do) You were on the side of that cliff (Trying to keep track of you) You jumped but I was stiff (I tried) Well I— Wasn’t brave this time Well I was standing there all alone Crying into my pillow Staining all those pillow cases I guess that’s when the pills kicked in When you left So did all of the rest I made some promises I’m not keeping them Well I— Wasn’t brave this time Sorry to have disappointed you You’re not even here to see it All my friends have come and gone it seems I was never good at completing a task
6.	Vamping 04:36	lyrics	buy track
Ain’t it a shame how she wound up that way Staring at blank spaces and wasting away You should’ve seen when she started to stray It’s in her words she refuses to say You Get to walk away now Oh baby You get to walk away X2 I could’ve sworn this time I Was still going to change The way she could hold it in would make me insane I just came to get a couple of lines I won’t step on your good time, don’t step in mine You Get to walk away now Oh baby You get to walk away X2
7.	Brand New Order 04:33	lyrics	buy track
Where are you Sleeping tonight? In your room Without the light Well I Will be outside Wasting time, wasting time I have my bags In the street And my bike Has two seats Well I Will be outside Wasting time, wasting time And in the morning, I will be gone I will be away but, I won’t be far I will leave a trail only you’ll know Cause with me you always will have a home
8.	Night Sweats 04:21	lyrics	buy track
It’s something that you think of All of the time Even though you’ve departed It’s always on your mind It keeps you up at night in pools of sweat inside your bed And even though it kills you, it’s always in your head I can’t Be this
9.	Sad Sap 02:13	lyrics	buy track
And it’ll wait till the morning It will wait every day, it always stays just For you And it walks beside you too The way it weighs, it wastes away half the day as you often do And if you can’t wait to be something you wished you had started before You just keep counting sheep in your bed until you can’t sleep anymore Remember me as something distant you knew Something I can cling to, when I stay inside I could watch the tv for the rest of the year It’s unclear when I’ll finish a night before five And if you can’t get through to my line, take your time I’ll be taking mine I’ll be counting up all of the days just to try and catch up on the sleep I can’t face

about

Wild Powwers Update the Ghosts of Grunge on "Skin"
by KEXP- MARTIN DOUGLAS

It’s safe to say grunge music – the albatross hanging over the Seattle music scene for a solid three decades now – is the style the city is best known for, to the extent that the vast majority of contemporary guitar bands consciously avoid sounding anything like it. Instead, they lean hard into metal, they take acid and space out, they clutch tighter to their anoraks, they channel the rush of their teenage garage band years, they chew more bubblegum, they forget most of the chords they learned and start watching a lot of feminist stand-up comedy, they dive headlong into their parents’ yacht rock collections, they discover Sade, they trade their guitars for turntables.

Truth be told, in my humble opinion, the last truly great grunge record was Superunknown, and that came from a band spiritually aligned with the musical possibilities of the genre. Kim Thayil once described the genre as one part metal, one-half part psychedelic, and one-and-a-half parts punk. Listening to Skin, the very good third full-length by Seattle’s Wild Powwers (out tomorrow on Nadine Records), proves there are bands in town who care enough about the elemental combination to have the science down pat.

Which is not to say the music of Lara Hilgemann (guitars, vocals) Jordan Gomes (bass) Lupe Flores (drums, vocals) should be reduced to a mere formula or recipe. Like every good band ever, Wild Powwers have imbued a very individual sense of character into their music. For starters, they’ve always displayed a very fun sense of humor on the album-length narrative Doris Rising and the as-straightforward-as-they-are-capable-of-being Hugs and Kisses and Other Things. Skin is a slightly more serious record, but you can’t be accused of being too stoic when you name one of your pulsing barnburners “Well, Shit” and self-deprecatingly title your bereaved closing ballad “Sad Sap.”

Plus, it seems incredibly difficult to not have fun getting to play these songs.

The band has a deep regard for song structure, a great facility for building their songs. Slinking around with them like dance partners in a dimly lit bar and proceeding to pump their fists hard (opener “Buff Stuff”). Starting them up like a car engine, giving them a second to warm up, and hitting the throttle with gusto (the aforementioned “Well, Shit”). Rising with the sun and going on a trail jog (“Brand New Order”). Grabbing hands and hips and swaying in 6/8 time in the finest of teenage dress clothes (“May I Have This Dance?”). Hilgemann’s voice is arguably the group’s signature instrument; smooth and crooning, jagged and spiky, sometimes within the confines of the same song. Always tuneful.

“Night Sweats” settles into a disquieting feeling, circling into a mental and emotional struggle in different shades of black and shifting tempos. (Wild Powwers are exceptionally good at turning sharp corners in their songs and traveling to completely different places musically but staying in the same place emotionally.) “Sad Sap” stands among the very best songs the band has recorded yet, deliriously tired but unable to fall asleep, drowsily swaying with the sounds of the night while Hilgemann forlornly spouts a melody crystalline and carrying the weight of years while still managing to float. <meta charset="utf-8"/>Counting sheep until the act nullifies its purpose, parked in front of the television until the calendar cycles into the next year. It goes a long way to exhibit the multitudes in which Wild Powwers are capable of showing: Humor and sadness, the spirit of their influences and the force of their own personality.

The bitter with the sweet. That’s how some of the best things are made.

credits

released October 12, 2018

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about

WILD POWWERS Seattle, Washington

WILD POWWERS are 3 Seattle kids who “specialize in the sort of carefree grunge riff-rock that gets better the dirtier it gets. Each layer of meticulously gnarly distortion, each off-kilter lyric, drenched in garage-echo reverb, is pure Pacific Northwest filth” - KEXP. ... more

shows

Apr 27

Sunset Tavern

Seattle, WA

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