Denver’s Weathered Statues issues its full-length debut, Borderlands, 11 May via Svart Records. The record is a culmination of influences, ranging from darkwave and post-punk to synthpop, shoegaze and new wave. Whereas some contemporary acts borrow the atmosphere heard on records by Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure or Killing Joke, they often fail to aim for the same artistic heights as those artists. That’s not the case with Weathered Statues. Again and again, the outfit finds lyrical and musical hooks that capture the listener’s attention and bring them back for repeated listens.
“Dark Tides”, a dead ringer for something that could have crawled from the forests of England in the Thatcher era, features a rude, rumbling bass line that buoys the track the way Simon Gallup’s four string figures drove the best of the Cure. “The Silver Cliff” is a haunting, smashing rocker that has no time for apologies or subtleties and is all the better for it. “Sabbat” is one of the album’s high art masterpieces, the sound of rock music in a post-apocalyptic era. Meanwhile, the opener, “Corpse Candle”, perfectly encapsulates all the mile high musicians muster.
The outfit’s ties within in the Denver scene are remarkable. Vocalist/keyboardist Jennie Mather and guitarist/keyboardist Jason Heller previously played in the band Hyacinth with members of Minsk and Lake of Violet. Drummer Andrew Warner currently serves in the legendary Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. All but bassist Bryan Flanagan served in Cloak of Organs, a Wovenhand/Planes Mistaken For Stars hybrid.
In addition to their already impressive internal CV, the band chose Jamie Hillyer (Green Druid) to track the record and brought in Keith Curts of Echo Beds to deliver a brilliant synthesizer solo othe n closing track, “Holy Masquerade”. Lol Tolhurst (co-founder of the Cure) has already performed a remix of “Corpse Candle” that will appear shortly after the album becomes available to the public.
TOUR DATES
05/04 Fort Collins, CO @ Downtown Artery
05/11 Denver, CO @ The Hi-Dive (Album release show)