Lower Dens was an American
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...
band from
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, United States.
The band was formed in 2010 by
Jana Hunter
Jana Hunter is an American songwriter and musician based in Baltimore.
Early life
Hunter was born in Texas.
Recording and band membership
Hunter was signed to Gnomonsong, a record label run by Devendra Banhart and Vetiver's Andy Cabic. ...
, Geoff Graham, Abram Sanders and Will Adams. Lower Dens has released four albums: their debut on
Gnomonsong and a follow up album on
Ribbon Music
Ribbon Music is an American-based independent Music Publishing Company, representing a diverse roster of international writers working across a multitude of genres including rock, country, punk, metal, dabke, electronic, Latin and folk.
For a com ...
.
Their third album, ''
Escape from Evil
''Escape from Evil'' is the third studio album by Baltimore indie rock band Lower Dens. It was released in March 2015 under Domino Recording Company's ''Ribbon Music'' label. It was produced by the band's lead singer Jana Hunter and Chris Coady.
...
'', was released on March 31, 2015, on
Ribbon Music
Ribbon Music is an American-based independent Music Publishing Company, representing a diverse roster of international writers working across a multitude of genres including rock, country, punk, metal, dabke, electronic, Latin and folk.
For a com ...
.
History
Formation and ''Twin-Hand Movement''
The idea for the band formed when Jana Hunter, at that time performing as a
solo artist
In music, a solo (from the Spanish and Italian based-word: ''Solo'', meaning ''alone'' or ''by yourself'') is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung featuring a single performer, who may be performing completely alone or supported by an ...
under his own name, grew tired of touring and decided to take a hiatus from the road. For his final tour before this planned hiatus, he put together a backing band. The enjoyment Hunter got from playing with a band versus performing as a solo artist gave him the idea to form Lower Dens: "During that tour, I realised that it wasn’t the touring life that I hated, but more so that the kind of music I wrote as a solo artist wasn’t something I felt entirely comfortable sharing in a performance setting. Lower Dens then was eventual result of the decision to make music with the specific intention of sharing and enjoying it with others."
According to bassist Geoff Graham, the band's creative process starts with Hunter creating "song sketches" which the band finishes together: "Every song is different but we do try to make decisions democratically, and try every idea and then decide by majority what choices we make."
[
After playing several shows in early 2010, the band released their first album ''Twin Hand Movement'' on July 20, 2010, via Gnomonsong. ]Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
gave the album a rating of 8.1, comparing Hunter's vocals to those of PJ Harvey
Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments.
Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...
and Beach House
Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals).
Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to ...
's Victoria Legrand
Victoria Garance Alixe Legrand (born May 28, 1981) is a French-American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist of the dream pop duo Beach House.
Early life
Legrand was born in Paris, France, the daughter of painte ...
.[ Dusted Magazine praised the album's lyrics, stating that they are "delivered without irony, yet self-aware enough to appreciate the obviousness."]
''Nootropics'' and other projects
The band began writing their sophomore album while still on tour supporting ''Twin-Hand Movement''. The limitations of writing on the road forced Hunter to work through a laptop and a keyboard rather than the guitar, which led to the increased presence of synths on the album: "I did try to write with a guitar on headphones through a tiny amp plugged into ... the cigarette lighter of the car, but that is an extraordinarily inefficient way to write music ... I talked the band into getting laptop; we got Garage Band and a MIDI digital interface keyboard, and that’s how most of the record was written."
After finishing up touring for ''Twin-Hand Movement'', the band chose to record their followup at The Key Club in Benton Harbor, MI. Hunter cited the studio's location as an imperative part of the recording process: "It's just very simple, and there are farm stands and a beautiful, great lake nearby. Fewer distractions meant more focus ... We slept nights in bunk beds above the studio. It was, in many ways, perfect." Graham noted the amount of time spent in the studio as another important factor: "We had a month of working 7 days a week, living in the studio we were recording in ... we had time to add all these extra dimensions and it made things lusher and thicker."[ In an interview with ]Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
, Hunter listed Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
's ''Radio-Activity
''Radio-Activity'' (German title: ''Radio-Aktivität'') is the fifth studio album by German electronic music band Kraftwerk, released in October 1975. The band's first entirely electronic album is also a concept album organized around the theme ...
'', Fripp & Eno
Fripp & Eno is a musical side-project composed of Brian Eno and Robert Fripp. The duo have released four studio albums, beginning with the 1973 album '' No Pussyfooting''. The music created by this pair is entirely instrumental and has made exte ...
, and David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
's production on Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
's ''The Idiot
''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69.
The title is an ...
'' as major influences during the writing and recording periods.
''Nootropics
Nootropics ( , or ) (colloquial: smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, similar to adaptogens) are a wide range of natural or synthetic supplements or drugs and other substances that are claimed to improve cognitive function or to promote rela ...
'' was released on April 30, 2012, via Domino Recording Company
Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...
's Ribbon Music. The album received positive reviews from major publications including Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
, Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
, and Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
. Joe Colly of Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
praised the album's first single "Brains" for adding "krautrock and electronic touches to the group's signature guitar swirl" and suggesting "a new dimension and a new confidence" for the band.[
In April 2013, the band opened for ]Beach House
Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of Victoria Legrand (vocals, keyboards) and Alex Scally (guitar, keyboard, backing vocals).
Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to ...
and Yo La Tengo
Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...
at the Baltimore stop of the latter's ''Fade
Fade or Fading may refer to:
Science and technology
* Fading, a loss of signal strength at a radio receiver
* Color fade, the alteration of color by light
* Fade (audio engineering), a gradual change in sound volume
* Brake fade, in vehicle brakin ...
'' tour. In May 2013, the band released a new song called "Non Grata" via a split 7-inch with fellow Baltimore Band Horse Lords. The 7-inch was released as a part of the Famous Class LAMC series, which benefits the VH1 Save The Music Foundation
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
.
''Escape from Evil''
On January 29, 2015, Lower Dens announced their third album ''Escape from Evil
''Escape from Evil'' is the third studio album by Baltimore indie rock band Lower Dens. It was released in March 2015 under Domino Recording Company's ''Ribbon Music'' label. It was produced by the band's lead singer Jana Hunter and Chris Coady.
...
'', which was released on March 31, 2015, via Ribbon Music.
''The Competition''
On May 30, 2019, Lower Dens announced their fourth album ''The Competition''. It was released on September 6, 2019, via Ribbon Music.
Breakup
On December 8, 2021, Lower Dens announced their breakup. “It’s time for me and Nate to say goodbye to Lower Dens,” Hunter wrote, referring to bandmate and drummer Nate Nelson. “We’re proud of what we’ve done, and very lucky to have had so many people supporting us. Spiritually and physically, we, like, can not participate in the music industry any longer.”
Discography
Albums
*''Twin-Hand Movement'' (2010)
*''Nootropics
Nootropics ( , or ) (colloquial: smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, similar to adaptogens) are a wide range of natural or synthetic supplements or drugs and other substances that are claimed to improve cognitive function or to promote rela ...
'' (2012)
*''Escape from Evil
''Escape from Evil'' is the third studio album by Baltimore indie rock band Lower Dens. It was released in March 2015 under Domino Recording Company's ''Ribbon Music'' label. It was produced by the band's lead singer Jana Hunter and Chris Coady.
...
'' (2015)
*''The Competition'' (2019)
Singles
*"Non Grata" (2013)
*"Real Thing" (2016)
*"Young Republicans" (2019)
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Baltimore
Musical groups established in 2010
Musical groups disestablished in 2021
Shoegazing musical groups
2010 establishments in Maryland