Lost Coves

One thing you can always expect from the Saw Her Ghost imprint is something different. Out of both packages I’ve received from the label, not one disc is similar to another. From the world ending (pun intended) instrumental doom of Beast in the Field to National Sunday Law’s forward thinking noise metal to the swaggering post-rock-psych of Empires and Hellas Mounds, there’s rarely continuity between bands but it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.

When 90% of the material you are putting out is of the highest quality (to these broken ears anyway), there’s absolutely nothing wrong with dipping your hands into a variety of pots, as long as the resulting broth retains a distinctly edible flavor. Which brings us to Brooklyn rhythm abusers Lost Coves and their S/T EP. The dynamic duo of Dylan (bass) and Bil (drums) provide the literary equivalent of trying to nail Jell-o to the wall, as their shifty, shaky sound is anything but the standard issue fare making the rounds out there.

Part Jupiter era Cave In, in the sense of psychedelic mind wipe, part Godheadsilo for their nerve rattling drum n’ bass clatter and a bit of everything else from Am-Rep to the Wantage roster to Shiner to Fugazi to Electric Wizard to The White Stripes in terms of sheer eclecticism, Lost Coves are not an easy act to pin down. They can fly off the rails one minute with space age synths, angular rhythms and off-key hollering vocals and land back down on Earth with a tempered groove, breathy singing and detailed texturing the next. Whether you like where they're coming from or not is truly a matter of personal taste, but one thing you can’t accuse these fellows of is catering to the norm!

Opener “Orig” proves this fact across the board as it starts off gently with accentuated cymbal taps and soothing chords, before plummeting headlong into a brief salvo of soul crushing bass driven doom. When the howling, Jack White drinking strychnine vocals kick in the band adopts a stuttering, rock n’ roll groove that’s more than an iota in tune with the aforementioned singer/guitarist’s two-step boogie. Eventually, the twosome locks down on an ominous, over distorted bass wail and a surplus of ethereal noise that seeps directly into the feral thud of “Red Mascara.” This track is even more out there than its predecessor, cutting a swath with the kind of ascending volume Neurosis made their most valuable weapon on Through Silver and Blood as the doom-soaked low-end, electronic squalls, hammer of God drumming and strangulated vocals mimic the same type of chaos channeled by Neurosis through that era of their career, but with the twitchy tendencies of Am-Rep, lock step simplicity of early Stripes and bludgeoning bass explosions of Godheadsilo coming along for the ride, kicking and screaming. Again…there is nothing ordinary about Lost Coves.

“Dead Weight” continues to see the band pushing their boundaries, setting things off with a jazzy, meth-fed noise-rock groove. Plenty of stops and starts abound as the in-the-red bass tones threaten to blow out the band’s very amplifiers, walking a valiant stride against the crash n’ burn drum battery. The loud, ear-bleeding emanations rest on an ebbing pulse at the song’s midpoint with clean riffs, gently rolling beats and wispy singing taking this baby to her peaceful destination, only to be shattered by another set of jazzy bass chords in the early going of “Iceberg Firebird.” Instead of stepping into the glorious aura of silence and restraint in the latter half of this track, the duo switches things up and keeps a subtly threatening glow going in the understated ambience of the track’s first section and plows headlong into crippling, half-step doom and psyched-the-fuck-out interstellar noise for the remainder of the piece’s duration.

Following a similar template as “Dead Weight,” “Lost Cove” splits the difference evenly between intangible Am-Rep/Subpop pummel and waiflike dream sequences, whereas closer “Hitmaker Coda” is easily the album’s best track with a scathing d n’ b doom/psych combo that turns into a familiar, introspective chest pounding groove that was the calling card of both Hum and Shiner in that glorious period of heady, righteously stoned, 90s indie crush. Think THEE riff in the Shiner classic “The Situationist” off of Lula Divinia and you’ll have an idea of what Lost Coves are bringing to the table with this tour de force EP capper.

It’s pretty safe to say that Lost Coves are not for traditionalists, as they don’t fall neatly into any genre grouping that I can think of. They’re a little bit of everything I like about the avant-garde side of rock n’ roll, and they’ve got an ability that never exceeds their grasp. In other words, they’re an ambitious lot that still realizes making good music is about writing songs with replay value, even if you are doing it in a way that could be defined as progressive or moderately inaccessible. As with everything I write about, I encourage you to check this one out on your own time. To the two people that emailed me about finding more material from The Pope (covered in my earlier list of comparisons simply under the listing of “Wantage roster”), I think Lost Coves will be right up your alley. They’ve got that same busy, road burning bass groove as The Pope and their predecessors Godheadsilo, but seem to work their angle from a more drugged out, psychedelic viewpoint.

So, while they are certainly as heavy as the two bands I've just mentioned, they’re also prone to more moments of dazzling spaciousness than the two bands I've just mentioned. Now, that I’ve written a sentence that’s basically about as unoriginal as they come, I think it’s time to end this review. Lost Coves should hold merit to fans interested in a hybrid of the 30 million bands namedropped in the above train wreck of a review. I myself am certainly excited about their upcoming recording, and can’t wait to see what shape the duo will take on next! - Hell Ride Music

Lost Coves have a weird sound. Their Self-Titled EP was one I had to listen to multiple times to get a grip on. Among the thoughts I had during the course of listening to them: “These vocals are terrible.” “These vocals are genius.” “What the hell are these two doing?” “Oh man, this is excellent.”

I hear a lot of stuff going on in these sevens songs, and it’s pretty great. Without wanting to put words in the band’s mouths, I feel like I am detecting a lot of solid influences on a spectrum that includes Kyuss, The Icarus Line, Captain Beefheart and Dead Meadow. Those are all excellent reference points. I always tend to review by comparison, but also always feel it does a disservice to the band in question. Lost Coves don’t sound like all the aforementioned stuck in a blender, there are bits and pieces of things they’re doing that remind me of those bands. What they’re doing is playing modern psychedelic rock. It’s not stuff that is mired in the past, it’s a vision of psychedelic rock as if the members of Lost Coves invented it themselves. Which is worth noting, as a lot of what calls itself psychedelic rock still sounds like Tommy James and the Shondells.*

This is challenging music, it’s a very rewarding listen though. I think it’s worth your time, head over to their BandCamp site and have a listen. You can then proceed to buy yourself a copy over at Saw Her Ghost Records. - To Eleven

At times seemingly recognizable, if only for fleeting moments, Lost Coves are not so easily pigeonholed into one of the plethora of genres that seem to appear every other week. Lingering silences are punctuated with fits of melody, often turning into explosions of fuzz. The vocals take on the same desperation as old school punk, replacing the thrashing backing guitars of those days with something more transient—a stripped down, bare bones sonic onslaught.

Lost Coves’ EP S/T opens strong with the short “Orig.” A vaporous build-up gives way to the grinding guitar crunch and ethereal vocals that will punctuate the rest of the album. The next few tracks attack classic strong structure with a vengeance. “Iceburg Firebird” has all the intensity, and instantly brings to mind the more experimental side of The Icarus Line. Vocals heavy on the echo, the guitar blitz make this one of the EP’s standout tracks. Distortion and fuzz are at their peak on “Hitmaker,” and just before the sound can become par for the course and repetitive “Coda” calms with its sparse and melodic lead to finish it all.

Reminiscent of earlier experimental music, and uniquely modern, Lost Coves have succeeded in producing a listenable EP. This is a solid performance, and while certainly one of the more interesting recordings to come out of a basement in some time, the true test of Lost Coves’ ability remains to be seen on stage. S/T showcases the glimmers of an energy that, if transferred to a live act, would be something to see.
- The Whiskey Dregs

After a protracted period of birthday celebrations, holidays, illness, more birthday inebriation, sleep depravation and a Monster Magnet show I finally felt I had achieved the correct mindset to embark on a psychedelic journey with trippy Brooklyn band Lost Coves.

Consisting of members Dylan and Bill this is an experimental noise outfit that have more ideas crammed into this 26 minute release than some bands manage in a life time of output, Christ I can see the rhythm section of AC/DC starting to break into sweat listening to the first track 'Orig' as it swoops and dives in focused chaos.

The band themselves have a grand vision for their music and no illusions about where it stems from, "Lost Coves stems from boredom and ambition colliding at monumental trajectories. And so we make music. We don`t really write songs as much as build movements based on rhythm, feedback and melody. Think Melvins and Herbie Hancock on tour with Beast In The Field arguing over the influential importance of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin on heavy metal, singing along to the Deftones and Bjork with Portishead on deck, playing air drums to Helmet and Pantera, burning one to Kyuss and Clutch, and driving drunk blasting ZZ Top Tres Hombres."

Listing influences is always dangerous - particularly when you sound like none of them! This is under half an hour of art rock that is constantly shifting in style, heavosity (yeah I know it's not a real word...) and pace recalling the heady days of AmRep Records finer calling cards and words that spring to mind to describe this are spasmodic, lurching, glorious, jarring, fuzz rock.

It has hazy serene moments of calm and clarity before twitching and gathering discordant sounds to usher in the darkness....measured sections of Indie/Shoegaze and warped sounds clash over pulsing bass and hypnotic feedback.

At times, when it peaks, they hit sublime highs like on 'Lost Cove' itself, the results are phenomenal. It is almost like the beginning of a Tarantino score - retro and yet brought up to date, cool and arresting before the wheels come off and you are thrown without a safety harness into the avant garde world they occupy and it is every man for themselves.

This isn't a release for everyone, it isn't a release for every day - if you prefer more traditional rock and roll this may be a stretch too far - but it is an ambitious, bold and progressive statement of intent that highlights a band that know how to write an arresting tune, but make their audience work for it; know that it takes great interplay to write cohesively, but want to push those boundaries as far as their talent allows it. - The Sleeping Shaman