Announce Debut Self-Titled EP Out October 11th on Shatter Your Leaves
Over the years Stu Watson has helped many other people record their music--largely artists known for pressing at the edges of genre and musical form--feminist freak-folk provacateur Larkin Grimm, post-emo pop collective Xiu Xiu, and neo-soul-grunge mastermind Sam Mickens, among others--but after half a decade in the trenches of the Brooklyn indie scene, Watson has turned his attention in a decidedly different direction.
“With No Sky God I wanted to work with a relatively straightforward, unadorned sound pallet. Two guitars, bass, drums. This project is more about songwriting and emotional directness than studio wizardry or genre-mashing strangeness,” Watson says. “I wanted to make music that was clear yet undergirded with passion.” To this end he teamed with guitarist James Marceda in late 2010 and began performing a mixture of original and cover material at DIY venues like Silent Barn and Death by Audio throughout Brooklyn. In early 2011 the band took to the studio with engineer Caley Monahon-Ward (Extra Life) to record their self-titled debut EP.
Passionate clarity shines through on opener “Brittle Heart” which finds Watson and Marceda supported by Lazar Davis (bass) and Jeremy Gustin (drums), who comprise Larkin Grimm’s present touring rhythm section. Almost Beefheartian in its exuberant repetitiveness, “Brittle Heart” sets the stage for a jangly and raw cover of Grimm’s as yet unreleased song “The Butcher,” a meditation on violence, sexuality, and pain. Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) provides acoustic bass for “Grey Eyes,” where psychedelic lyrics float over a jazz-tinged folk backdrop that recalls both the lilting jaunts of Vince Guaraldi and the pastoral elegance of Led Zeppelin's acoustic offerings. “Go West” presents a more straightforward folk rock approach, again accompanied by the full band, while “Always Waiting for the Light” is perhaps the emotional core of the record, displaying Watson at his most lyrically and emotionally exposed. “How I Am Blind,” also featuring Baldwin, is tinged with a melancholy almost reminiscent of classic country balladry.
The No Sky God EP will be released digitally and on 12” vinyl by Shatter Your Leaves on October 11, 2011. No Sky God will play an album release show on October 6 at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
No Sky God EP Track List:
1. Brittle Heart
2. The Butcher
3. Grey Eyes
4. Go West
5. Always Waiting For The Light
6. How Am I Blind
No Sky God Live
September 30th @ Louis V Gallery Brooklyn, NY *
October 6th @ Public Assembly Brooklyn, NY **
October 21st @ Vaudeville Park Brooklyn, NY ***
* = w/ Doom Trumpet and Rachel Mason and Little Band of Sailors
** = w/ Rachel Mason and Little Band of Sailors, Charlie Looker, Sam Mickens
*** = w/ Ed Askew, Yva Las Vegass, Rachel Mason and Little Band of Sailors
For more information visit:
www.noskygod.com
www.shatteryourleaves.com
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