Wet Ashes

Look What Just Blew in from the Windy City

Contrary to popular belief (and corroborating climate), Chicago isn’t nicknamed the Windy City due to the frequent gusty bursts from Lake Michigan… nor is it true that its historically deceitful politicans – full of hot air – earned Chicago its moniker. A little known fact about the city is that the “Windy” part actually comes from the huge waves its alt rock scene is making on the national consciousness, which in turn are responsible for whipping up frenzied hurricane-strength winds.

Okay… so that’s all nonsense. But what is true is that Chicago has a proud musical tradition, from its crucial role in the creation of Chicago-style blues (think artists like Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters), its invaluable contribution to jazz (Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald) and its unique take on soul and rhythm and blues (Curtis Mayfield and Sam Cooke spring to mind) to its invention of the house music genre (the humble beginnings can be traced back to local nightclub ‘The Warehouse’).

The city has also played an equally important role in the development of alternative rock through the years, producing such great artists as Patti Smith, Styx, Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco, Andrew Bird, Rise Against, OK Go! and, of course, the aptly-named Chicago. Fortunately, the young scamps of today have continued on that proud tradition, pumping out one irresistible indie rock anthem after the last. Check out my top ten below… then feel free to tell me I’m full of hot air, as well, in the comments section at the bottom.
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10) Bring Your Ray Gun

Sounds like: The Bravery, Joy Division

Introductory synth lines might fool you into believing you’re about to listen to an earnest, honest-to-God dance or new wave artist… but that’s where Bring Your Ray Gun pull a fast one on you and hit you with their genre-defying weaponry. Before you know it, they’ve slipped in some distorted and disorientating guitar reverbs and pummelled your eardrums with punky vocals.

You might not know where you are at the end of their songs – but you’ll know you’ve had a good time.

I’m not 100% sure even Bring Your Ray Gun know what kind of music they make… but whether it’s disco, dance, new wave, punk or rock, it’s damn good.

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9) Wet Ashes

Sounds like: The Smiths, The Stone Roses

Imagine Morrissey and Ian Brown went on holiday together to Guadalajara in Mexico and after one particularly debaucherous night out in a Latin club, ended up conceiving a bastard lovechild (don’t ask who is the mother). Fleeing the country in shame, the pair left their musical offspring to fend for itself in Mexico, before it finally reached the shores of America in its adulthood, settling into making its own particular brand of music in Chicago.

If this ridiculously implausible (indeed biologically impossible) and quite possibly libellous scenario didn’t make you chuckle, it might at least give you an idea of what to expect from Wet Ashes.

Bilingual lyrical ragamuffins Wet Ashes combine the shoe-scuffing melancholy of 80s Britpop with more upbeat guitar riffage to bring to life memorable tunes which sink their hooks into your tiny mind in the blink of an eye.

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8) Ne-Hi

Sounds like: Real Estate, New Pornographers, Girls

This is music that was surely made for knocking back cans of cheap lager in some grassy field on a summer’s day. The mellow reverb of the guitars and the raw, scratchy vocals of lead singer Jason Balla recall the beery headiness of university inertia, while the heaviness of the lyrics in ‘Drag’ (below) betray the high-octane fuzziness of their tunes.

According to Balla, the ditty is about “realising how far from the present I can get when I’m taken over by work or stress or excitement. At the time [of writing], my friend was feeling some real weight and it woke me up to the fact I wasn’t really around. This song is about taking the time to go through the mud with them; it’s about taking care and putting your ear to the ground.”

Harder to pin down than a butterfly on steroids, Ne-Hi mix up beachy guitars, introspective lyrics and Pixie-esque whining vocals to create a grungey sound that somehow manages to maintain a positive outlook on life.

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7) mtvghosts

Sounds like: Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, FFS

There’s very little readily available information about mtvghosts on the net, perhaps appropriate given their name. From the artily-taken photos online, one can glean that these kids are very young, very hungry and very big fans of glamorous alt rock which doesn’t take itself overly serious.

Recently, the young gunslingers released a free album called ‘Tri-Pop’ via the medium of Bandcamp, eight tracks long and full of spunk. Check it out.

If Franz Ferdinand hadn’t recently collaborated with Sparks to create their glammy supergroup, there wouldn’t be too much of a crisis – mtvghosts already had that non-void filled.

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6) Exit Ghost

Sounds like: Death Cab for Cutie, Wilco, Snow Patrol

You might not be an instant convert to the Exit Ghost bandwagon, but I would suggest it’s pretty much impossible to not like the soft indie rock that these guys purvey so well. Echoing guitars, haunting vocals and thoughtful lyrics come together in a beautiful union of song and substance.

And remember that cool Coldplay video for The Scientist? Okay, now forget you’ve ever seen it, then watch the one below and marvel at its originality.

Exit Ghost are the sort of band you swear you’ve heard somewhere before, but can’t quite put your finger on where… which is perhaps fitting, considering their moniker.

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5) Grandkids

Sounds like: Oh Laura, Sylvan Esso

Who said great music needed to be complex? Grandkids’ lilting melodies are lent a compelling weight by the beauty of Vivian McConnell’s achingly beautiful voice, and though the tapestry of sound in the background may be only deceptively simple, they still find most of their impetus and appeal through guileless, unassuming anthems.

It’s rare to see a band make stripped-down strings and drums play a firm second fiddle to the power of the vocalist’s crooning – but Grandkids pull it off with remarkable aplomb.

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4) Sister Crystals

Sounds like: Beach House, Sally Seltmann

Spoiler alert – Sister Crystals are not actually related; in fact, they’re not even both girls! However, the musical webs being spun by duo Lauren Whitacre and Colin Croom are certainly crystalline – if such an adjective is ever applicable to music.

With songs as simultaneously fragile and powerful as the most precious of stones, Sister Crystals are powerhouses of psychedelic dream-evoking pop-rock. Listening to their tunes is akin to staring into all of the colours of the rainbow at the same time.

Weaving delicate dreamy melodies which occasionally punch you in the gut and stamp on your toes (but more often than not soothe you off into a blissful state of musical inebriation), Sister Crystals make lush and lavish dream-pop-rock.

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3) The Walters

Sounds like: British Sea Power, Band of Horses, Girls

Despite commanding a devoted fan base in their hometown, The Walters have yet to break into the mainstream consciousness… but with such a crowd-pleasing, heart-warming, head-bobbing brand of gentle rock, that’s surely only a temporary thing.

They were tragically-videoless for the first track on their debut EP-LP mongrel, until fresh-faced London camera-wielder Louis Jopling, yet to have his spirit crushed by the humdrum-yet-hectic pace of the capital, decided to right that particular wrong with the charming little video below.

Though the title of their album is ‘Songs for Dads’, I can confirm that their unique brand of self-styled “cardigan rock” can be enjoyed by those without little nippers to look after, as well.

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2) Twin Peaks

Sounds like: Mac DeMarco, The Jam

Catchy riffs? Check. Unmistakable Jagger-esque vocals? Hilarious videos? Check. Twin Peaks score the holy hat-trick of budding new alt rock bands which have fun making music and demand that others enjoy themselves similarly when listening to it.

Fans of Mac DeMarco will be particularly interested in giving these guys a listen – it’s surely only a matter of time before they reach the same level of semi-stardom.

Forget the TV show and its upcoming new season, this laid-back, laugh-out-loud, live-a-little rock band are the only Twin Peaks you need to worry about this year.

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1) The Orwells

Sounds like: The Offspring, Spoon, The Doors

Okay, okay, so these guys are sort of big already… after all they’ve been used on an Apple advert, have supported The Arctic Monkeys, appeared on both ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ and ‘Late Night with David Letterman’ and even crept onto the updated GTA 5 soundtrack. When your music is being used as a backdrop to stealing cars and running over civilians, I guess you know you’ve made it.

However, for those on this side of the pond and with an aversion to simulated larceny, there’s a very good chance that The Orwells won’t have cropped up on your radar yet. For this reason, these long-haired rockers top this Chicago chart – check them out now if you haven’t already.

Fuelled by political rage and contemporary angst, channelled through energetic guitar licks and furious vocals, The Orwells are today’s punk-rock answer to all of yesterday’s demands of indignation. - Itcher Magazine

Para crear un rock Mexicano no es necesario componer desde la tierra que te vio nacer. Asi es como Wet Ashes hace un Puente musical entre Estados Unidos y Mexico. En entrevista para Guia Metro, Angel Soto (Voz y Guitarra) nos comento que desde Chicago hace una Buena mancuerna con Yuri Gonzalez, Picho Torres y Shaboomy Lozano, Integrantes de la banda que radican en Guadalajara. Y con una excelente comunicacion hicieron posibles los temas que exploras diferente el rock en varias de sus vertientes y dejan ver claramente sus influencias. - Guia Metro

Wet Ashes proudly presents "Spot in the Sun" is the track#2 from the album "Acoustronic Tales".
Directed by Alejandro Trigos.
Produced by Salvador Rios.
Edited by Luis Rodriguez.

In the debut full-length, international band Wet Ashes have reinvented themselves. Though their time is split between Chicago and Guadalajara, Mexico, they've managed to focus up and become more determined than ever. The new single "Spot In The Sun" is a great representation of that. The track showcases the quartet's ability to effortlessly and seamlessly blend genre after genre, touching on everything from post-punk to brit rock or shoegaze. “Spot In The Sun” is equal parts classic psychedelia and contemporary dance-rock, with some impressive guitar manipulation from Lozano pushing the song over the top. - Totally Fuzzy

Nick Digilio welcomes member of the band Wet Ashes! In this conversation, they explain their roots in Culiacan and Guadalajara Mexico, their and the country’s appreciation for The Cure and their show this Saturday, June 20th at Debonair Social Club.

Go to the link and listen to the interview and live performance in an acoustic setting. - WGN Radio Nick Digilio Show

Bands having members in different countries is becoming less rare these days thanks to the ease of transferring ideas back and forth via the internet, and that's been the case with Wet Ashes. The group have been together a few years, but only released their debut album late last year after they'd cemented a line-up that worked and written a high calibre of songs. Split between Chicago and Mexico, different musicians, producers and engineers work together to give them a hybrid of various indie-rock sounds.

There is something traditional about their music, but at the same time it holds an almost danceable groove and takes in elements of US alt-rock, the UK guitar-pop scene, as well as glimmers of psychedelia and an experimental leaning. 'Spot In The Sun' captures that vision perfectly and is a tangible progression from their early recordings (they started exchanging ideas over five years ago). There's nothing overly commercial about this track; Wet Ashes plan doesn't seem to be toppling Taylor Swift or anything, it feels as though they're a band making the music they want. And when that's done to a high standard, you can easily find yourself going places. - The Sound of Confusion

Chicago-based band Wet Ashes have been together since 2010, but this is my first exposure to the band. This is a well-put-together video that deals with some complex issues in a very short time, and fits the song very well. Taken from their just released full-length Acoustronic Tales, “Spot In The Sun” is a good introduction to a band looking to make some space for themselves in the crowded post-punk arena. - Music. Defined.

Wet Ashes are an international band, sharing time between Chicago and Guadalajara, Mexico with influences that run the gamut from post-punk to Brit-pop, and new wave to shoegaze.

The video for their new track “Spot In The Sun” is below. Spot in the Sun” is the second track from the album Acoustronic Tales. It was directed by Alejandro Trigos, produced by Salvador Rios, and edited by Luis Rodriguez. - Ghettoblaster

Being in a band is hard. It takes work to manage different schedules, identities and personalities. It takes confidence to create music. It takes a very specific type of confidence to create music unbound by a specific tag or genre, confidence in the ability of both the song and the performance to ensure the band’s identity remains intact, even when the songs couldn’t be more different from each other. And it takes a level of work and confidence bordering on insanity to maintain such a band’s existence across vast geographical distances–but Wet Ashes have been honing and developing their emotive, eclectic sound between Chicago and Guadalajara, pulling together disparate influences to create a cohesive whole, and braving the distance in order to maintain the quartet’s undeniable chemistry.
Singer/guitarist Angel Soto, originally from Culiacan, Mexico, started Wet Ashes as a collaboration with producer/arranger Picho Torres, in the Guadalajaran music scene. A product of the file sharing generation, the songs of Wet Ashes attracted prominent members of the music scene in Torres’ native Guadalajara, culminating in the 2010 EP, You’ll Say Yeah!. Soto’s move to Chicago in 2011 complicated matters, but despite the distance, Soto, Torres, bassist Yuri Gonzalez and guitarist Shaboomy Lozano have been polishing and refining their craft, separately and together, waiting to show what they’re capable of.
With influences running the gamut from Modest Mouse to the Stone Roses, there is never any doubt that these songs come from the same creative mind, despite their differences. Songs like “Phony” explode out of the speakers, dripping menace and covered in hooks. “Quiescent Current” finds Soto waxing Morrissey, his throaty emotive vocal painting a hypnotic picture over a pulsing bassline, building tension until the final chorus finally delivers the needed catharsis. Even older songs like 2010’s “Tealights,” with its combination of acoustic guitars, dancey programmed beats and ambient sonic textures, shimmer with life on record.
However, as captivating as the group is in the studio, the live performance brings another element to the equation. Earlier this year, the group uploaded live, in-studio material to YouTube, including “The Mouse.” Already an energetic song, it surges almost frantically in a live setting, a relentless bass groove supporting angular guitar stabs underneath Soto’s impassioned vocal. “I Speak Too Much” is a folky stomp with a gorgeous, delicate chorus melody, given new life by the band’s arrangement. “Nine,” the first single from 2014’s Acoustronic Tales, features a spare electronic percussion track with lush keys and arpeggiated guitars, all framing Soto’s lovelorn tale of woe and remorse. Already captivating on record, the song breathes and blooms in unexpected ways when performed live. Finally, “A Spot In The Sun” is equal parts classic psychedelia and contemporary dance-rock, with some impressive guitar manipulation from Lozano pushing the song over the top.
Wet Ashes has spent the last five years establishing themselves as a live act to be reckoned with. On June 20th, the group will perform at Debonair Social Club, 1575 North Milwaukee in Chicago. Pulling from its diverse catalog and infusing the songs with the pure joy of playing music, the band aims to secure its spot in the sun by cementing its status as one of Chicago’s most unique–and eclectic–bands. The evening’s show begins at 8:30pm and is 21-and-over. Further details are linked here. - Radio One Chicago