"See through mind said to me, the danger comes in fives / Aisles of old objects I like to be around..."
The beautiful off kilter sonic moves of "Danger in Fives" by Wombo, the Louisville-Kentucky bred trio of Sydney Chadwick (bass/vocals), Cameron Lowe (guitar), and Joel Taylor (drums), feel darkly distinct and whimsical at the same time. I mean the slithering bass lines against shuffling drum beats are offset by thick guitar lines that feel grungy cast an ever moving musical bed for Sydney Chadwick's vocal countenance that feels at once beautifully hypnotic as angsty like twee grown up with your normal amount of emotional bruises that happen when you encounter the less giving parts of the world, spiritually speaking.
Wombo's sound is so unique that it is hard to find connections to other bands which is always an interesting exercise for me, one that I fail at probably as much times as I succeed at but I do feel some connections. For whatever reason the bass line (maybe sound, maybe the breathing musicality) had me thinking of The Birthday Party and the of whimsical heaviness had me flash on Cursive. The abstract storytelling had me thinking of Neutral Milk Hotel and Modest Mouse and mind you, Wombo really sounds nothing like these bands but I think artistically and attitudinally there might be leans or to put it another way, they all could inhabit a mixtape and the results would not be jarring.
By the way, "Danger in Fives" is the title track from their new (3rd) album dropping August 8th on Fire Talk Records. LINER NOTES (excerpted slightly and bracketed):
[Wombo unveils an accompanying “Danger in Fives” music video — helmed by the band’s own Lowe — and plots for their headlining North American, UK and EU tour. Danger in Fives is Wombo’s third full-length record, and marks the band’s first release in over 2 years. In the years since, Wombo have performed globally, fine-tuning and tightening a batch of tracks across countless shows.]
[Danger in Fives isn’t a reintroduction; it’s a reminder. Throughout the record, Wombo not only enhance their formula, but routinely perfect it. Maintaining the confidence of their last full-length, 2022’s Fairy Rust, Danger in Fives reconnects with the intuition that led their wild experiments on the 2020 debut LP Blossomlooksdownuponus. The elements central to Wombo remain true, and are only strengthened across a near-decade of crafting mesmeric rock.]
HEY Wombo- hope you play dates in LA, how could you not??
-Robb Donker Curtius
https://www.instagram.com/womborocks/#
https://www.facebook.com/womboband
The weird world of Wombo is a kaleidoscopic journey of sharp turns and surprising visions, a melting pot of influences with a cheeky cheshire-cat grin that coalesce into a trippy but infinite universe, a portal into their unique vantage point without limitation. Already committed to living outside the traditionally-heralded country sound of the music scene in their hometown of Louisville Kentucky, Sydney Chadwick (vocals) and Cameron Lowe (guitar) had previously played in punk pop band the Debauchees, and with the addition of Joel Taylor (drums) in 2016 they found a winning combination of more straightforward indie rock combined with Chadwick’s pitched up, oscillating vocals and unpredictable shifts in melody that see the band moving forward at an impressive pace. Their 2018 album Blossomlooksdownuponus is a snapshot of Wombo’s wide-ranging aspirations that careen across avant pop, psych and wonky post punk interludes with a sky’s-the-limit approach to translating the mundanity of regular life into their own high-frequency language.
In a generation where pop has come to be defined as anything but, Wombo have spearheaded their own definitive sound that avoids genre classification but is impossible not to tap your foot along to. “Usually if the babies like it, we like it”, admits Chadwick, and it speaks to the band’s bass-driven song structures that pivot through a whirlwind of instrumentation at rapid speeds that they are still able to land on a winning formula that strikes the sweet spot between effervescent overload and razor sharp intention. In 2019, the band toured with White Reaper, Dehd and The Nude Party, bands whose affinity and dedication to strange experimentation have won them fans across a wider audience, and Wombo are poised to follow suit. In a careful balance where no one instrument overwhelms, Chadwick’s vocals are the cherry on top of a decadent dessert that explodes with personality and ingenuity.
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/womborocks/#
https://www.facebook.com/womboband
The weird world of Wombo is a kaleidoscopic journey of sharp turns and surprising visions, a melting pot of influences with a cheeky cheshire-cat grin that coalesce into a trippy but infinite universe, a portal into their unique vantage point without limitation. Already committed to living outside the traditionally-heralded country sound of the music scene in their hometown of Louisville Kentucky, Sydney Chadwick (vocals) and Cameron Lowe (guitar) had previously played in punk pop band the Debauchees, and with the addition of Joel Taylor (drums) in 2016 they found a winning combination of more straightforward indie rock combined with Chadwick’s pitched up, oscillating vocals and unpredictable shifts in melody that see the band moving forward at an impressive pace. Their 2018 album Blossomlooksdownuponus is a snapshot of Wombo’s wide-ranging aspirations that careen across avant pop, psych and wonky post punk interludes with a sky’s-the-limit approach to translating the mundanity of regular life into their own high-frequency language.
In a generation where pop has come to be defined as anything but, Wombo have spearheaded their own definitive sound that avoids genre classification but is impossible not to tap your foot along to. “Usually if the babies like it, we like it”, admits Chadwick, and it speaks to the band’s bass-driven song structures that pivot through a whirlwind of instrumentation at rapid speeds that they are still able to land on a winning formula that strikes the sweet spot between effervescent overload and razor sharp intention. In 2019, the band toured with White Reaper, Dehd and The Nude Party, bands whose affinity and dedication to strange experimentation have won them fans across a wider audience, and Wombo are poised to follow suit. In a careful balance where no one instrument overwhelms, Chadwick’s vocals are the cherry on top of a decadent dessert that explodes with personality and ingenuity.
Wombo, three piece alternative rock, indie rock, abstract pop, alt pop, art rock, art pop, art punk, post punk, Sydney Chadwick (vocals), Cameron Lowe (guitar), Joel Taylor (drums), 3rd album "Danger in Fives",
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