Not only are From Indian Lakes releasing their first album in 5 years this month, band leader Joe Vann has also teamed up with RX Bandits/The Sound of Animals Fighting/The Chinkees guitarist Steve Choi for a new project called Hard Chiller. On the band’s debut EP Heavy Cell, the core duo is rounded out by drummer Casey Deitz (The Velvet Teen) and bassist Roger Camero (No Motiv), the same rhythm section that Steve played with in the supergroup Peace’d Out (which has The Movielife/I Am the Avalanche’s Vinnie Caruana singing).
“When Steve hit me up to sing on some songs, I was hyped to just sing over someone else’s riffs without having to come up with any instrumentation,” Joe says. “This was my first time doing that since being in bands as a teenager. What came from that is a collection of slow and heavy stuff that reminds me of the late ’90s/early 2000s bands that I listened to growing up. ‘Clouds’ feels like the right introduction of that energy.”
“Joey and I wanted to do a project because we had a strong vibe together,” Steve adds. “We started making some songs with no expectations or pretense and before we knew it we had a handful of songs that made our hearts feel chill and excited at the same time. We were blessed to have Born Losers Records get ears on it and want to release our first EP.”
Heavy Cell comes out June 28 via Born Losers, and the aforementioned lead single “Clouds” makes its premiere in this post. It finds them channelling the heavy, spacey vibes of bands like Deftones, Hum, Failure, Smashing Pumpkins–pretty different than what we’re used to hearing from Steve and Joe, but it suits them perfectly and they really bring their own flavor to it. Don’t let those comparisons fool you; this is definitely not just another “alt-gaze” band. Check out the song and its Bob Sweeney-created video below.
Pre-orders will be live soon here.
Tracklist
1. Clouds
2. Draining
3. Close By
4. Flowers