Weep is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

whose music combines elements of

ethereal wave Ethereal wave,Glasnost Wave magazine, issue # 42, p. 32/34, genre classification of the bands Trance to the Sun (''"Ghost Forest"''), This Ascension (''"Light and Shade"''), Soul Whirling Somewhere (''"Eating the Sea"''), Cocteau Twi ...

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie a ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

and

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

. Formed in 2008 by singer and guitarist Eric "Doc" Hammer (formerly of Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica, and writer and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

for the animated television series ''

The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animation, adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on ...

''), the band's lineup also includes

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

ist Fred Macaraeg,

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

Alex Dziena and drummer Bill Kovalcik. Their debut EP, '' Never Ever'', was released in 2008 by Hammer's Astro-Base Go company and

Projekt Records Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include Sam ...

, followed by the full-length albums ''

Worn Thin ''Worn Thin'' is the debut album by the New York City rock band Weep, released July 13, 2010 through Projekt Records. It includes a remix of the song "Ever Shy" from the band's 2008 debut EP '' Never Ever'', as well as cover versions of Jesus Jone ...

'' (2010), ''Alate'' (2012) and ''Weep'' (2014). Weep's music has been described as dark and expansive, with "shimmering guitars and spacy synthesizers". Hammer's singing voice has been noted for its gravelly, robotic qualities which provide a counterpoint to the lush song arrangements. Critics have compared the band to a number of post-punk,

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

and shoegaze acts of the 1980s and 1990s.

History

Prior to forming Weep, Hammer had performed in the gothic rock acts Requiem in White (from 1985 to 1995) and Mors Syphilitica (from 1995 to 2002), both with his then-wife

Lisa Hammer Lisa Hammer (née Houle; born April 4, 1967 in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American filmmaker, actress, composer and singer and is the sister of director James Merendino (''SLC Punk!'').By Mike White, Cashiers Du Cinemart, (archived versio ...

on vocals. Over the next several years, he continued to write music, while also working as a writer and voice actor on the animated television series ''The Venture Bros.'', beginning in 2004. In 2008, Hammer was approached by Dziena with the idea of starting a new band to perform songs Hammer had written. " tarting Weepwas a fucking accident", said Hammer in 2009, "there was never supposed to be a Weep, I was just writing songs, because I do it habitually. My keyboard player that I had been in a band with previously called me up and asked what I was doing. I told him I was just writing my own shit, just to entertain myself, because it's what I do. And he was like... 'let's make a band. Dziena recruited bassist Macaraeg and drummer Kovalcik for the project, and the group began rehearsing. Hammer took on singing duties, a departure from his previous acts, which had featured operatic female vocals. He said: "I didn't know I was going to fucking sing... I can't fucking sing. I didn't care, I just wanted to write this crap". Weep's debut EP, ''Never Ever'', was released in 2008 by Astro-Base Go, the animation company of Hammer and ''Venture Bros.'' co-writer

Christopher McCulloch Christopher "Chris" McCulloch (born September 14, 1971), also known by the pseudonym Jackson Publick, is an American voice actor, writer, director, producer, and storyboard artist. He is known for his work on several ''Tick'' properties and fo ...

, and distributed by Hammer's former label, Projekt. The full-length album ''Worn Thin'' was released in July 2010 on Projekt, followed by ''

6 Interpretations ''6 Interpretations'' is an EP by the New York City rock band Weep consisting of remixed versions of songs from their 2008 debut EP '' Never Ever'' and their 2010 debut album '' Worn Thin''. It was released in 2010 through Projekt Records. Sing ...

'', an EP of

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

es. "Weep has just become something that I am really interested in," Hammer remarked, regarding the direction of the band. "I think it's a band of people that are capable of making a really good record. No one in the band cares about the things that ruin albums: we don't care about being popular, we don't care about being part of the zeitgeist, we don't care about sounding like another band, we just want to do our own weird thing". In January 2011, Weep released a digital

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

for "Lay There and Drown" and "The Hole", two songs from ''Never Ever'' that Hammer remixed,

remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

, and re-recorded some vocal parts for. The following month, on

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

, the band gave away a free

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

of a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

' 1981 single "

The Passion of Lovers "The Passion of Lovers" is the sixth single released by British gothic rock band Bauhaus. It was released in 7" format on the Beggars Banquet label in 1981. The initial copies came with the lyrics on a printed insert. It peaked at No. 56 in th ...

". Weep's second album, ''Alate'', was released August 28, 2012 by Projekt. Their third, self-titled album was released in 2014 on the Organs of Generation label.

Musical style

Weep's music combines elements of ethereal wave, shoegaze, synthpop, gothic rock, post-punk,

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

and new wave. Gregory Heaney of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described their sound as "dark and expansive, envelop ngthe listener in a warm blanket of shimmering guitars and spacy synthesizers, setting them adrift while still maintaining enough drive to feel like substantial rock songs". Hammer's singing is noted for being gravelly and robotic but also relaxing and wistful, providing a counterpoint to the lush song arrangements. The band has drawn comparisons to Echo & the Bunnymen,

Kitchens of Distinction Kitchens of Distinction (sometimes shortened colloquially to KOD) are an English three-person alternative rock band formed in Tooting, South London, in 1986. They released four studio albums and a handful of singles and EPs before disbanding ...

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

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 ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

, My Bloody Valentine,

the Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasin ...

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

, Modern English,

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene ...

, New Order,

the Comsat Angels The Comsat Angels were an English post-punk band (music), band from Sheffield, England, initially active from 1978 to 1995. Their music has been described as "abstract pop songs with sparse instrumentation, many of which were bleak and filled w ...

and

Placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

Personnel

Doc Hammer Eric Hammer (born February 2, 1967), known professionally as Doc Hammer, is an American voice actor, musician, writer and artist. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, bo ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

*Fred Macaraeg –

*Alex Dziena –

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

s *Bill Kovalcik –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2010,

Projekt Projekt is a Portland, Oregon-based independent record label started by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. Projekt releases music in the styles of darkwave, ambient, shoegaze, gothic rock, ethereal, dream-pop, and dark cabaret. Projekt artists include S ...

) *''Alate'' (2012, Projekt) *''Weep'' (2014, Organs of Generation) *''Too Much Nothing'' (2021, self-released)

Singles and EPs

*'' Never Ever'' EP (2008, Astro-Base Go) *''

'' EP (2010, Projekt) *"Lay There and Drown" / "The Hole" digital single (2011, Projekt) *"

" digital single (2011, Projekt) *''Songs Nobody Wanted Us to Cover'' EP (2020, self-released)

References

External links

*
Weep
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weep Musical groups from New York City Projekt Records artists Musical groups established in 2008 American post-punk music groups American gothic rock groups American synth-pop groups Ethereal wave musical groups