Scriptures with Wow and Flutter and Steradian

Scriptures

Scriptures formed in 2008 out of the remnants of indie rockers This Is A Process of A Still Life (Process). Hailing from Missoula, Montana, bassist Jason Ward, drummer Baine Craft, and guitarists Burke Jam and Scott Kennedy relocated to Seattle, WA, where they were joined by guitarist David Totten. Finding inspiration in Western soundtracks, post-apocalyptic literature, and the geography of the Pacific Northwest, Process changed its musical trajectory and shed the previously shimmering, even-keeled, post-rock sound for darker and heavier compositions.

As they composed further, Process experimented with pieces that delicately combined both the soft and heavy, the addictive and abrasive, and the East and West. The melodies were even more intricate than before, the guitars more distorted, and the song structures more experimental. Infusing the dark Western sound with world-music and metal influences, Process found a distinct path that veered far from the trails behind them in Missoula. The disparity between the previous albums and the new material was too obvious to ignore, and the band changed their name to Scriptures.

When Burke Jam moved back to Missoula in 2009, the band added multi-instrumentalist Jeff Forrest to the line-up. In late 2009, Scriptures collected material for an album and entered the studio to record their first full-length. With the help of audio engineer Jackson Justice Long (Hear Me Shimmer Recording Co.), mixing by Long and Jeff Forrest (Birds Inverted Music), and mastering by Blake Bickel (Dynamic Sound Services), Scriptures recorded tracks at Two Sticks Audio and at home. In 2011, guitarist Scott Kennedy left the ensemble to pursue other musical interests, and baritone guitarist Casey Alexander joined. In late 2011, Scriptures’ album was picked up by Seattle label Translinguistic Other and will be released on cassette tape with a digital download on April 18th, 2012. A vinyl version of the album is set for release on May 12, 2012. Scriptures has shared the stage with bands such as Earth, Arbouretum, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Midday Veil, The Luna Moth, and The Curious Mystery.
 

Wow & Flutter

Taking the name Wow & Flutter in the late 90′s from a term for analog tape fluctuation, frontman Cord Amato revels in imperfections. The band’s current lineup solidified around 2006 with Amato rounded out by Jack Houston on drums and Ryan Matheson on bass and keyboard. Their new album, Equilibrio! (Italian for balance), finds the trio crawling into a much darker space than 2008′s critically lauded Golden Touch. Maintaining the diversity of its predecessor, the album sounds bleak but not brooding… it’s as if the band is celebrating scuzzy defects and enjoying their time wallowing in the mire. Amato is often quoted as saying  “You’re only as old as you rock.” and I’m happy to say that if Golden Touch was a snotty punk in his early 20′s, Equilibrio! is a musician that’s settled into his own skin; one that’s comfortable, confident and well aware of how to calculate their anger instead of exploding at the world.  The resulting eight songs veer from Omnichord-based fairytale spookiness, Spacemen 3 gospel-drone and a touch of Krautrock. Beyond that, the band steadily maintain their fuzzed-out caveman pummeling drenched in taut hums and wreaking of burnt wires and blown speakers.

“The Puget Sound” kicks the album off with the proper amount of weirdness, distortion and groove.  Cord Amato’s voice mumbles into the mic, “Scratches on the skin of memory, reminding us how fragile life can be.” kicking off the second track (“Scars”) with a hint of off-handed, disheveled adulthood. “Someone Save Me” coyly reminds us to always laugh before you cry. Good advice, don’t you think? Slashing guitars and writhing bass lines dance staccato over a squalling backdrop of rhythm and crashed cymbals on “Mechanical Kill” before it outros to an icy, metallic coo. That coo carries on, robotically lulling you, straight into the epic album closer, “The Day Before The World Explodes” which reaches it’s peak with Cord bellowing “this ain’t no long goodbye” over and over and begging us to celebrate the best we have because it won’t last long.

Equilibrio! plays out as a triumphant kiss off to the world, balancing restless exasperation with coded love letters to the anonymous. Nab it from Mt. Fuji Records on October 19th, 2010.

Steradian

Steradian is a new project initiated by Josiah Feinberg (guitarist/vocalist in The Transport Assembly). Steradian's first release, "Let's Teleport", is a studio project in which Josiah wrote all songs and performed all instruments. Audio engineering was expertly enacted by Andy Meyer at Seesaw Recording Company in Seattle, WA.

Since the recording of "Let's Teleport", Steradian has become a live ensemble consisting of Josiah on guitar and vocals, John Herman (The Quiet Ones, The Forth) on bass, and Eric Junge (Patrol, The Building Press) on drums. This trio is currently performing songs from "Let's Teleport" in various contexts, as well as collaboratively writing new material for future release.