There’s Not Much Information Out There Yet About This New Dallas Shoegaze Act, But That’s Not Stopping Us From Digging Their Loud, Sludgy Sound.
Welcome to Song of the Day, where we hip you to all the new local releases you should be caring about. By highlighting one new North Texas-sprung tune every week day, our hope is that you’ll find something new to love about the rich and abundant DFW music scene five days a week.
Seizure Sister — “Witness”
RIYL: murky mysteries
What else you should know: Seizure Sister is a Dallas-based band that just released its Witness EP on Oakland-based label Bliss Beat Records.
And, well, that’s pretty much all the information that is available on the outfit. Outside of a Bandcamp page, there’s an Instagram account, a Twitter account and, uh, almost no additional details to be had.
So, before we go into fan fiction, let’s discuss what we hear on the title track to the band’s new six-song release.
If you’re a fan of what Teenage Wrist, Narrow Head and Nothing have done in their careers, “Witness” boasts a comparable vibe. Older acts like Hum, Failure and Hyperview-era Title Fight also seem to influence these proceedings, which is all to say that Seizure Sister uses plenty of layers in its melodic and heavy shoegaze stylings.
But the song never ventures into cheesy metal tropes, and it doesn’t get too melodic (the slightly atonal vocals are the proof). The guitars are thick with distortion, the vocals are drenched in reverb and the lyrics are almost impossible to make out. The half-time drumming is more akin to what you’d hear in a doom band, really. Mixed with detuned electric guitars (along with acoustic guitars in a couple of sweet spots), there is a balance between gloom and joy on “Witness.”
It’s something you have to hear to understand.
Maybe more information will come out someday about who this excellent band is. For now, we’ll just enjoy the beautiful sludge.