Yeah, this one makes sense. Shaman Recordings, the label incarnation of much-respected UK heavy blog The Sleeping Shaman, have picked up nautical UK doomers Undersmile. The band hinted in their recent interview here that they had an acoustic side-project in the works, and it seems that Shaman Recordings will release that as well. Undersmile and their unplugged incarnation Coma Wall will issue a split 12″ vinyl this coming February.

Kudos to the band and right on to the label as well. Seems everybody wins, especially those who pick up the forthcoming and cleverly-titled Wood and Wire release:

UNDERSMILE & Their Acoustic Alter-Ego COMA WALL Sign To Shaman Recordings; Limited 12” Vinyl Set For Release During Feb 2013

Shaman Recordings are proud to announce their second release; Wood and Wire, a “self-split” between Oxford’s mighty drone/doom/sludge-bringers UNDERSMILE and their acoustic alter-ego COMA WALL. That’s one side of Americana-influenced, atmospheric doom-folk and one side of Undersmile’s characteristic, monolithic heaviness.

Following on from their debut EP A Sea of Dead Snakes, the Undertaker split (w/Caretaker) and their critically acclaimed debut album Narwhal, Wood and Wire marks the bands’ first foray onto vinyl and they have produced a record that reflects their diversity as a band and hints at what’s to come, for both incarnations.

Having played acoustic sets at the inaugural DesertFest and in support of Dylan Carlson (Earth) COMA WALL is the name UNDERSMILE have given to their acoustic project as a way to separate the two disparate but interlinked sides of their musical personality (highlighted by Coma Wall’s acoustic take on Undersmile’s “Cutter’s Choice”). Their contribution to this record is a taster for a future COMA WALL record.

Wood and Wire‘s acoustic side features production work from the band’s previous producers Jimmy “Evil” Hetherington (A Sea of Dead Snakes, Narwhal) and Umair Chaudhry (Undertaker split) while side B is produced by Justin Greaves (of Iron Monkey, Crippled Black Phoenix, Electric Wizard, Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine). Featuring three songs on either side, this is Undersmile as you’ve never heard them before.

The incredible artwork has been created by Craig Bryant (of Bast) whose work has previously been featured on posters for the likes of Dylan Carlson, Eagle Twin, Pombagira, Lattitudes and many more.

This slab o’wax is scheduled for release during February 2013 via Shaman Recordings and will be strictly limited to 300 copies on transparent purple vinyl with digital download card.

British foursome Undersmile are notable for a few reasons. Probably first among them is that they have not one, but two guitarist/vocalist frontwomen — Hel Sterne and Taz Corona-Brown — at the helm. Second, both sing, and trade off drawling stoner doom vocals for yelling sludge shouts. Third, they hit really, really hard. Listening to Undersmile‘s two tracks on their recent split with countrymen hardcore act Caretaker, even more than the sleepy vocals, it’s the punch the music packs that stands out. Tom McKibbin assaults his toms in the first part of “Big Wow,” setting a slow march, only to give way eventually to a faster groove, but either way, his kick drum feels like it’s taking the air out of your lungs.

Undersmile is rounded out by bassist Olly Corona-Brown, and on the split’s second extended cut, the 12:43 “Anchor,” his four strings follow the plodding start-stop course set by the guitars. “Anchor” ultimately takes a different path from its predecessor, veering into spooky minimalism and culminating in noisy oblivion instead of getting faster and then slowing back down, but shows nonetheless that Undersmile recognize their material is stronger when it moves in one direction or another, rather than just lumbering along. There’s still a considerable stomp to “Anchor,” but it’s dreamier and less outwardly aggressive, the guitars and vocals meshing in the second half like some nightmarishly-slowed ’90s throwback.

If you’re interested, Undersmile have the tracks up at their Bandcamp page and can be found on Thee Facebooks here. The split was released by Blindsight Records, whose page is here, and just in case you don’t feel like clicking any of those links (so much work!), here’s the player with Undersmile‘s tracks and Caretaker‘s: