We Drew Lightning

This Santa Fe trio's second release covers territory ranging from indie to stoner rock but still feels very rooted in electronica, as evidenced by the cover art, title and content. Beautifully produced with a huge sound worthy of Mogwai, there are very few rough edges here. “Chillout room music,” I thought while listening, perhaps unfairly dismissive of that style’s utilitarian origins. In fact, a friend stopped by about then, looking to alleviate PTSD symptoms she was experiencing thanks to an APD siege that locked down her entire apartment complex. Glitch helped her out a lot, so score one for chillout. (Derek Caterwaul) - Alibi - Derek Caterwaul

“…they pounded a percussionistic war pattern so concentrated and passionate that it felt as if they were going to get up any moment and kick the shit out of each other. Pairing this with Roland’s ambient vocals, reminiscent of an indiscernible Hope Sandoval, created a unique blend of trance-like adrenaline rage.” – J. Christopher Dupuy (Signal to Noise) - Signal to Noise - John Dupuy

We Drew Lightning's latest full-length Glitch is anything but—there are few irregularities, though plenty of surprises, in the Santa Fe band's release of 12 highly-textured songs.

Formerly a two-piece (guitarist Roland Ostheim and drummer Michael Smith), WDL now welcome Aaron Jenks on keyboards whose synth contributions add an element of modernity to the semi-vintage atmosphere created by Ostheim’s floating vocals and reverbed guitars, and Smith’s hard-hitting and unbound drum patterns.

On the album, the pliant ethereality of T Rex holds a place alongside the electronic and instrumental experimentation of 1990s post-rock (Tortoise comes to mind) and grunge distortion.

“How I live in this World” stands out as a good example of the ways WDL takes full advantage of the sonic toolbox available to them: equal attention is paid to the composition, instrumentation, performance and mixing elements. The piece as a whole travels comfortably within diverse sections, while maintaining a distinct and comprehensive mood throughout.

Although the band’s live shows are known for chaotic displays of bombast, this album’s strength lies in its moments of melodic simplicity. These are the gaps in the comprehensive atmospheric cloudiness of the album, the breaths between storms and the pauses between lightning strikes. - Santa Fe Reporter - Loren Bienvenu

Roland Ostheim (guitars, keys, bass, brass, and “howls”) and Michael Smith (drums, keys, samples, and “more howls”) have been at the core of WDL since the band’s founding, and fans get weak-kneed over their instrumental prowess as well as their creative live looping and sampling. WDL’s debut album, Swimming With Orange, dropped on High Mayhem Records in 2007 and saw Ostheim and Smith tinkering with the juxtaposition of electro-centric ambient noise and propulsive rock-based instrumental crescendos. Jenks’ contribution to four of Glitch’s tracks doesn’t just fill empty spaces or even the stylistic odds. His keyboard lines further texturize an already-full-sounding ensemble and challenge preconceptions about a keyboard’s “place” in a band as diverse, dynamic, and technically meditative as WDL. Glitch, which was recorded at High Mayhem Studios and We Drew Lightning’s own Ruthless Sweetheart Studio in 2011 and 2012, draws on many influences, including the Pixies and Sonic Youth. It also contains musical contributions by Carlos Santistevan, Lily Taylor, and Joan Yatsevitch, all of whom have strong Santa Fe ties. This is an album so immersive, so hauntingly beautiful in composition and execution, so expertly produced and infectious that it could propel We Drew Lightning to a type of national recognition it never dreamed of — and perhaps never wanted. - See more at: http://wedrewlightning.com/press/#sthash.VwV9e6d0.dpuf - Santa Fe New Mexican/ Pasa Tiempo - Rob Dewalt