"tonight we'll get it right"
Honesty by Seattle based Forest Ray feel like indie rock steeped in 60's folk psychedelia, California surf punk and patchouli oil. That is, of course, an oversimplification, the band that started as a musical project in San Luis Obispo, CA by Peter Sumic and Robby Porovich as a two person recording project (and since evolved into a touring line up of like minded musicians) manages to toss in elements of chamber pop tones and tightly wound pop that is compositionally deep riding on evocative melodies and storytelling.
From the band:
"Sonically, the chime of the 12-string electric-guitar complements the jangle pop influences of the 1960s that eventually crescendo into an epic freak-out filled with harmonicas and bending guitars masked in a surreal wash of tape delays, something of a signature for the group."
Honesty is the first video single from Forest Ray’s upcoming fourth studio album, "Black Pine".
The Official Video (filmed on Super 8 film) was shot on location at Wong's Kitchen and Bar in Seattle utilizing members of the local music community affiliated with the Forest Ray Records label and featuring members of Control Test, Smoker Dad, VllY, Myrrum and Wrestler, also based in the Seattle area.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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Forest Ray experiments in the analog and psychedelic, combining guitar driven psychedelic rock with elements of raw synth-laced post-punk and organ-laden pop. Originally started in San Luis Obispo, CA by Peter Sumic and Robby Porovich as a two person recording project the group has now evolved into a touring lineup currently based in Seattle.
Following in the footsteps of Pacific Northwest garage rock greats from The Sonics to The Kingsmen, Forest Ray brings a new spin to the classic garage lineup but with the same youthful punk spirit. The songs regularly feature flute and vibraphone which have become staples of the group's brand of psych.
The group’s uninhibited performances and analog recording process have bred dark, nostalgic and intimate recordings that can feel as if they’ve come from a different decade with their traditionalist approach of tracking live to tape. The band’s melodic and rhythmic sensibilities occasionally reveal the songwriter’s background in Eastern art music and Balkan music while blending their love for good old fashioned rock n’ roll, psychedelic blues and country. Their first record, Musical Witchcraft, was released October 28th, 2016 on 180g vinyl. Their second record, Laughing, was released on 180g vinyl on August 25th, 2018. They toured the US extensively and played SXSW 2019 in support of their 7” split record with Lasso Spells, out March 9th, 2019 on Nashville’s Cold Lunch Recordings label"
"Honesty” is the first video single from Forest Ray’s fourth studio album, Black Pine. “Honesty,” being one of the first songs written for this record, was actually an unfinished track from a previous period of writing. We had been playing it for a while, and I had a few lines worked out. But after a turn of events prior to a scheduled tour, the lyrics just kind of pulled together and we went to a festival in Missoula and played it live that weekend. We had just gotten back from a 23 day tour across the United States, for a record release show in Nashville with Cold Lunch Recordings, SXSW and various stops along the way, and as tours often go, when we returned I was left with completely depleted resources and no job to come back to. Luckily, I pulled some things together, and after finding work, I eagerly booked the next tour. The plan was to get out of Seattle to play with some good friends in Spokane and make our way to Missoula, Montana to play a festival.
“Honesty” marks one of the more cohesive expressions of the group’s eclectic influences, showcasing a lush instrumentation that highlights the early era of psychedelia while simultaneously channeling their innate drive and garage rock/punk roots. Forest Ray’s Honesty, while being a product of turmoil and joy, manages to simultaneously uproots these feelings in the same smokey room, bottle in hand.
Video Description:
The video takes place in a smokey and dimly lit restaurant and bar after a lonely bar regular stumbles in for a drink. The bar is filled with unenthusiastic patrons either disinterested with the event or too consumed with themselves to pay any attention to the bar band on the seemingly delicate night.
The song’s mid-tempo drive takes you on a nonchalant stroll through the video that starts to unfurl into a more chaotic and distorted scene as the patrons grow progressively drunker and more raucous. The music fills out and seemingly takes the bar crowd into a progressive state of delirium.
Taking some jabs at satirical, rock ‘n’ roll tropes and also playing to the psychedelic folk rock aesthetic reminiscent of The Byrds’, we see some bottles start to crash and some fists start to fly, all surrounded by hazy steel guitar, reverb drenched vocals, and lush flute accents. Sonically, the chime of the 12-string electric-guitar complements the jangle pop influences of the 1960s that eventually crescendo into an epic freak-out filled with harmonicas and bending guitars masked in a surreal wash of tape delays, something of a signature for the group.
“Honesty” marks one of the more cohesive expressions of the group’s eclectic influences, showcasing a lush instrumentation that highlights the early era of psychedelia while simultaneously channeling their innate drive and garage rock/punk roots. Forest Ray’s Honesty, while being a product of turmoil and joy, manages to simultaneously uproots these feelings in the same smokey room, bottle in hand.
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