Photo by: Nicholas Crider
Official press release:
Richmond noise-rock outliers Dumb Waiter return with Change (July 31, Ossein Records), a 13-track shift for the underground favorites, introducing vocals for the first time while maintaining the band’s experimental sensibilities.
A preview arrives today with the release of the album’s title track, and an accompanying video directed by the band’s own Nicholas Crider. He comments:
“Over the past few years I’ve gone through a lot of major life events. With each one, I’ve found myself lying awake thinking ‘I’m afraid of change. Please let’s not change. Please don’t change on me.’ No matter how desperate you are to stay put, life will push you forward. The lyric ‘I don’t like change’ feels like one of the most universal, simple, and honest things I could say. Despite that fear, I’m learning to lean into who I am, and I’m less afraid of stepping out of the proverbial uniforms that society, scenes, friends and family may impose. It feels like a perfect statement for the band’s newly formed identity.”
Previously described by Decibel as “experimental freakies,” and by MetalSucks as a band “that isn’t pushing the envelope so much as shoving it right over the side of a goddamn cliff,” Change sees Dumb Waiter trading abstraction for urgency, still unpredictable but more direct in its message.
Saxophonist/vocalist Tristan Brennis explains of the band’s decision to include vocals on the new album
“What more is there to say without saying anything? We quickly realized that we had a whole lot to say about the current state of the world and this hyper-acceleration of society that I think we’re all feeling day in day out.”
Recorded with producer and mixer Kevin Bernstein at Baltimore’s Developing Nations studio (home to records by Full of Hell, Magrudergrind, and Pig Destroyer) and mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn O))), Isis, and Pelican), Change retains the band’s density while sharpening its delivery. As drummer/vocalist Nathaniel Roseberry notes:
“We put a lot of effort into creating multifaceted songs that didn’t present as complex. Even if there is ridiculous syncopation happening in the rhythm section, the other guys are smoothing it over to still keep that pop feel.”
Album pre-orders are available now via Bandcamp, with Change available on limited-edition swirled purple and blue vinyl, cassette, and digital formats.
Change track listing:
- “The Sun”
- “Bones”
- “Change”
- “Dumb”
- “Sound the Alarm”
- “Drip”
- “Scratchers”
- “Gloat”
- “Headaches”
- “Wires”
- “Less and Less”
- “Memory”
- “I’m Afraid of Everything”
