LONE KODIAK

Following a trail of back-to-back hits and raw, defiant anthems, Lone Kodiak drops their latest single, “Werewolf Girl,” serving as both a capstone to an already remarkable year and an omen of what’s to come. Known for their propulsive innovation and artful musings, the East LA quartet continues their ascent into the echelons of alternative rock.

Emerging from the depths of a transformative creative process that birthed hits like “Corner Booth” and “Let’s Hear It For The Kid,” Lone Kodiak taps into a new level of musical maturation. Leaning into their proven versatility—inspired by iconic bands such as The Cure, Hum, and The Smashing Pumpkins—the group yet again redefines the auditory experience.

If David Lynch ever wanted a soundtrack for the Twilight Zone of his dreams, “Werewolf Girl” would undoubtedly be his first choice. With a vibe that pays homage to b-movie horror and camp, the track unfolds like a rip-roaring cinematic escapade—fasten your seatbelt; it’s a wild ride. It’s as if Lone Kodiak decided to transmute every pulpy corner of pop culture into a kaleidoscope of brilliant melodies and choruses.

The song is a synthesis of delirious fun and thoughtful reflection. In a surprising twist, the bridge offers a pause in the mayhem—a nuanced, emotional interlude that amplifies the band’s signature aesthetic, akin to the sweeping grandeur of Band of Horses or Muse. But this is not a band to let you drift off into sonic nirvana. They pull you back down to earth with the gritty, grounding influences of Deftones and Young Widows, culminating in a haunting denouement that all but begs you to join in its moonlit lament.

The release of “Werewolf Girl” is not just another single but a momentous step in Lone Kodiak’s burgeoning legacy. Recorded at Big Bad Sound in Los Angeles, and produced by Kyle Mangels, the single captures the raw, elemental spirit that has propelled them onto the watchlist of anyone who knows anything about the future of rock. - Canadian Beats

Lone Kodiak seemed well on their way to cutting a wide swath across L.A.’s indie-rock scene in 2018 after they released their second EP “Pt. 1.” Then they were faced with two crises — one physical and one of identity.

Singer-guitarist Dainéal Parker and bassist Daniel Alden had debuted Lone Kodiak in 2017 as they moved on from their Portland project Emberghost after singer-keyboardist Sarah Jennings died of brain cancer. But in November 2018, Alden sustained serious injuries in a motorcycle accident, putting him on the shelf for five months. And Parker, already questioning the musical direction Lone Kodiak were headed, used the break to take a head-clearing trip to Ireland, seeking, he says, “inspiration and clarity.”

This week, Lone Kodiak return with guitars blazing — “Make It a Weapon,” the new single from the trio (now including Josh Harris on drums), captures the atmospheric, surround-sound aspirations of their early songs but ratchets up the intensity. The fusillade of guitars (Robb Torres was brought in to help with them) is counterposed with a string interlude (Stephan Hovsepian plays violin and viola), and with Parker’s urgent vocals on top of it all, “Make It a Weapon” feels like waves crashing ashore.

“It’s not a complex song,” Parker says. “There’s literally only three chords save for the bridge, but its simplicity is the source of its power, I think.”

In advance of its release Friday, “Make It a Weapon” premieres here, along with a conversation with Parker about rethinking the band’s sound, clearing hurdles and their forthcoming six-song release “My Sympathies Are Yours.”

Buzz Bands LA: So can you take me through the past year or so?

Dainéal Parker: In February 2019, we started songwriting and pre-production, and in April, Daniel (Alden) was cleared to play again. In August, we started working with Kyle Mangels as producer, and in October, Josh Harris was brought in on drums and Robb Torres was brought in as guitars supervisor. Full production began in January, but after the City of L.A. issued its stay-at-home order (March 19), the vocal production had to be done at my home studio, with remote supervision from Kyle, and that proved difficult. It wasn’t finished until July 9.

What were some of the things that inspired the new direction?

Dainéal Parker: I had gotten pretty musically insecure after a couple of disastrous shows we played with bands we’re friends with (Karmic, Underhill Family Orchestra) in which I didn’t perform well and we completely failed to connect with their (or our, for that matter) audiences. If you’ve seen either of those bands live, you know that their crowds absolutely love them, and I felt like, speaking for myself, I was completely incapable of generating that kind of excitement. But aside from insane musical talent, what these acts had that we didn’t was an unshakeable sense of self … an identity, not just in their branding but in their sound, their coordination and the way they carried themselves on stage. Again, I can’t speak for my current or former bandmates, but I never knew exactly what we were, who we were, or what exactly we were trying to do, and I certainly didn’t know who I was as a performer. I think that lack of confidence showed. It even shows in our second EP, where we’re essentially one band attempting three very different sounds, and it all stopped being fun for me.

What happened that got you out of that head space?

Dainéal Parker: So the February after Daniel’s motorcycle accident, the future was very gloomy and uncertain. Even the weather was gloomy — I think it rained that entire month. I had just come back from Ireland on a kind of soul-searching venture, and adopted a new (old) writing philosophy. I stopped considering what everyone would think of whatever I was writing, and just decided to evoke the 16-year old in the garage with their Peavey Patriot and Crate GX-10 with a tiny distortion button on it and just fucking go for it.

And how did your 16-year-old self feel?

Dainéal Parker: This new sound, which started with a song people won’t even hear until early next year, it felt free, it felt like me. It was big guitar lines and angry drums and belting choruses … It felt like motorcycles and protests and getting in trouble and it was FUN. And when Alden heard it, he insisted we fully commit to that sound. The only problem was that it wasn’t exactly Lone Kodiak; there were no synthetic sounds, no pop elements, no female vocals, etc., and so it began as an entirely separate project. It wasn’t until well into the process that our publicist convinced us to rebrand Lone Kodiak instead of starting something new. Still, it does feel like we’re starting from scratch.

What’s on the horizon in terms of a larger release?

Dainéal Parker: “My Sympathies Are Yours” is six songs, not including acoustic versions and remixes. We’re doing kind of an old-school radio campaign; we’ll release two singles (“Make It a Weapon,” “PDX ’97”), and then the collection will be available on vinyl/CD in October with the release of the third single (“Bones”). The whole thing won’t stream until the last single is out early next year. - Buzzbands.LA

There are few, if any, strict rules when it comes to music. A rock musician can dive into reggae; a rap artist can release a pop album: The sky’s the limit, and you can really do whatever you want – at least, in theory. In practice, everything is far easier said than done. A band’s sound is what defines its character, in the eyes of so many – and no matter how hard music-makers try to shut off the outside noise, such pressure is real and palpable: It drives the kind of music you make, for better and worse.

For LA trio Lone Kodiak, those days are now behind them. The alt-pop band returns reinvigorated with “Blank Stares,” a smooth and ambient protest full of burning emotion and heavy passion.

Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering “Blank Stares,” off Lone Kodiak’s forthcoming three-track EP Pt. 1, produced by Math Bishop (The Killers, U2, Snow Patrol) and out this Friday, October 12, 2018. As its name suggest, Pt. 1 is just the start of a new chapter for Lone Kodiak: A first look at what will eventually become their first full-length studio album.

“The entire process of writing, recording, and releasing our first EP (2017’s Feet in the Water) was an absolute drain,” the band recounts to Atwood Magazine. The Los Angeles trio of Dainéal Parker, Daniel Alden, and Andrew Smith first came onto our radar in mid-2016, when we premiered a heavily atmospheric, now-unavailable cover of Daughter’s song “Smother” as a part of Lone Kodiak’s introductory “Ladies We Love” series. A year later, we debuted a stripped-down version of “Calm Down,” the lead single off the band’s stirring debut EP, a stirring folk rock meets indie folk affair which released in November 2017.

“We adhered to too many self-imposed rules, we were too rigid and overprepared in the studio, and, perhaps worst of all, we didn’t enjoy ourselves one bit,” the band says, reflecting on the previous year. “This new trio of songs, and ‘Blank Stares’ in particular, represents a complete and total rejection of our previous methods, rules, and how we had been defining ourselves and our sound as a band.”

I hate the thought of losing you
It aches in my bones; it hurts me like you do
Keep my eyes on the prize, caution to the wind
Feet to the fire, hands on your hips
Lips to the water, shit I will forget
But I will remember you

Don’t call it a comeback: Call it reinvention. “Blank Stares” hypnotizes with its heavy beat and pulsing synth/guitar melodies. The band create an ambient bed of vibing warmth, out of which Dainéal Parker croons sweetly, his dynamic vocals evoking tension, nostalgia, and remorse.

“The song itself was inspired by a wild weekend in Joshua Tree, an experience in which, Parker, our singer/guitarist, usually fairly reserved and private, challenged himself to be vulnerable, ditch his perceived notions of himself, and fully commit to living in that moment, wherever it took him or whoever it made him,” Lone Kodiak explain. “‘Blank Stares,’ if it’s about anything more specific than temptation, missed opportunities, or nostalgia, is about realizing you’re in one of those moments and fighting like hell to hold onto it, knowing you’ll miss it when it’s over. And for us, the way we approached this one was will, too. It began with the falsetto vocal intro and we just let it run. As it came together, we knew it was a significant departure from what people had come to expect from us, but that’s part of what made it exciting. Our producer Math Bishop picked it out of about a dozen demos we sent him, and he deserves a lot of the credit for giving it its shape. Most of the musical cues and ideas in there are his, and it pushed the vocal and lyrics to continually improve and grow, right up to the very last day we were in the studio – the bridge (“If I see you in the desert again …“) was written the night before. And incidentally, Parker’s made a rare lyrical exception; the line isn’t symbolic or alluding to anything – it’s very much about a specific person in an actual scenario.”

And maybe if the whole thing feels like exciting new territory for us, listeners will feel the same.

If I see you in the desert again
Rollin’ in the moonlight with you and your friends
I promise I will try a little harder than I did
(Those blank stares)
Yeah, if I see you in the desert again
Moon coming up over lifelong friends
I promise I will try a little harder than I did
(Those blank stares)

(Tell me again about how me met)
(And sing me that song so I don’t forget)

“Blank Stares” is utterly intoxicating, a burst of refreshed energy full of resolve. Lone Kodiak’s return heralds a new era for the band – one in which they will define themselves not by external pressures, but by momentary bursts of inspiration and intent. “Blank Stares” and the Pt. 1 EP, out tomorrow, signify an exciting shift in a group we’ve been taken with for quite some time: Their new songs reaffirm their talents and assert their status as a definite artist-to-watch. - Atwood Magazine

Long before East LA’s newest indie power trio became Lone Kodiak, singer/guitarist Dainéal Parker and bassist Daniel Alden were in a Portland band called emberghost. Having risen to the upper ranks of a crowded PDX “post-hardcore” scene with their aggressive mix of anger and sorrow, emberghost reliably sold out large venues like The Roseland and earned itself a trip to NYC to meet with Sony Music. It was around this time that their co-vocalist, the extraordinarily talented Sarah Jennings, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Sadly, she would not recover.

The backstory is important here, because though Lone Kodiak is a young band, the music conveys a rich history, littered with difficult, sometimes devastating memories and profound experiences alluded to in a reflective, nostalgic tone. There was some reluctance to start again from the beginning – are we really going to put ourselves through all that again? Anyone who’s done it knows it takes a lot of effort, a lot of patience, a lot of rejection, and a lot of vulnerability to become something from nothing. but once they picked up drummer Andrew Smith, who injected a kind of energy into the music they weren’t expecting, they decided that if they were going to do it at all, they were going to really do it.

ABOUT “CALM DOWN”

Produced by Johnny What (BRÅVES, Nikki Reed), mixed by Kyle Mangels (Lady Gaga, Goldilox, Haley Reinhart), and mastered by Grammy Award winning, John Greenham (Ice Cube, Bastille, Katy Perry, Sam Smith), “Calm Down” is the first single from the band’s forthcoming debut double EP “Feet in the Water.” Featuring exuberant (and real) strings, driving piano, eloquent acoustic guitar which offsets the energizing electric guitars, pep rally claps, both male and female vocals, and a distinctive hook, all in a hard-to-resist 3/4 time signature. The band have dubbed the sound “campfire rock,” as it is intimate and honest enough to be a bedside lullaby while yearning to be an arena smash.

“The right hand piano part is where this one started,” explains Parker. “I was goofing around, playing an old news bulletin pattern, when I almost accidentally added the 3 left hand chords.”

“Calm Down” features the graceful, transcendent voice of Alex Rhodes. “The second I heard her voice come in on ‘Astronaut’ [one of Rhodes’ singles], I knew she was the one,” Parker said, “there is a emotionally devastating tenderness to her voice that we instantly fell in love with.” Lone Kodiak asked her to sing on the entire EP as well as the B-side, “Living Room Editions.” LA violinist, Stephan Hovsepian, provided the captivating real strings just two days before the mix was due for mastering.

The debut single embraces light and life with a gang-chant melody that will stick with listeners for days. The effervescent rhythms, compelling guitar, bouncy choruses and a brooding breakdown are a potent recipe. Lone Kodiak isn’t too bashful to be catchy nor too pop to forgo meaningful lyricism. “Calm Down” captures an intoxicating moment that sets the bar high or this new trio. - Spill Magazine

The musical grandeur of Lone Kodiak is the work of Daineal Park and Daniel Alden, Portland expatriates whose former band Emberghost faded away after the tragic death of singer/keyboardist Sarah Jennings six-plus years ago. The pair moved to L.A., where drummer Andrew Smith (ex-We Are the Kings and Queens) joined up, and after getting attention for the one-off “Disaster,” last summer released an EP of ambitious covers (“Ladies We Love,” with songs by Daughter, Maria Taylor, Lorde, FKA Twigs and Agnes Obel).

The painterly, majestic meditation “Calm Down” is the first song from the forthcoming EP “Feet in the Water,” showcasing the trio’s penchant for indie-rock that is at once expansive and intimate. “Campfire rock” is what the band calls it, and over strings, piano and handclaps, “Calm Down” finds Parker teaming up with guest vocalist Alex Rhodes to achieve the sweeping emotions that come when you have to dig deep to summon hope and optimism.

“The second I heard her voice come in on ‘Astronaut’ [one of Rhodes’ singles], I knew she was the one,” Parker says of Rhodes, who sings on the whole EP. “There is a emotionally devastating tenderness to her voice that we instantly fell in love with.” Produced by Johnny What (BRÅVES, Nikki Reed), mixed by Kyle Mangels (Lady Gaga, Goldilox, Haley Reinhart) and mastered by Grammy-winning John Greenham (Ice Cube, Bastille, Katy Perry, Sam Smith), the EP features violinist Stephan Hovsepian, whose work was added to the recordings only two days before the mix was due for mastering.

Calm down, or don’t. - Buzzbands.la