Sorcia Premiere “Miss Ann Thrope”; Lost Season Due July 21
With lumber a-plenty rolling behind them, Seattle sludge rockers Sorcia offer five new tracks on their impending second album, Lost Season. Set to release July 21 through Desert Records, the 40-minute long-player unfurls itself with due patience in its slower moments, and remains atmospheric regardless of tempo without dwelling too long in any single space, which is an accomplishment when three of the five inclusions are over eight minutes long. And yeah, you’ve heard similar tales before in other contexts, but let’s just say that since the trio issued their self-titled debut (review here) in mid-March 2020, one hopes the arrival of the follow-up is significantly less tumultuous.
It is their second release through Desert Records behind the 2021 Death by Design EP (discussed here), which featured as a CD bonus track an acoustic take on “Dusty.” That song reappears on Lost Season in fully-plugged form as the penultimate cut, ahead of the nine-plus-minute “Entering the Eighth House,” which lurches in bluesy atmosludge fashion in a final nod to end the procession of barebones-feeling-but-not-actually-barebones tracks, as helmed by Tad Doyle (TAD, Hog Molly, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth), with whom the trio of guitarist/vocalist Neal De Atley, bassist/vocalist Jessica Brasch and drummer Bryson Marcey also worked on the self-titled. In part because of that continued collaboration and in part because of the songs themselves, the spirit of Lost Season is very much one of steady and incremental progress.
As De Atley‘s clean vocals seem to move more in the vein of Dax Riggs circa Acid Bath — offset by his own shouts and Brasch‘s backing and lead parts in the speedier “An Axe Named Otis” and elsewhere — on opener “Miss Ann Thrope,” the central verse and chorus riffs move in a build and release of tension, steady in delivery but not staid emotionally. Brasch does appear on “Miss Ann Thrope,” just past the halfway mark, but not much, and her arrival in the call and response in the galloping second half of “An Axe Named Otis” is a jolt. That second track and “Faded Dune,” which follows, are markedly faster than “Miss Ann Thrope” — the first half of “An Axe Named Otis” doesn’t have the same push as the already-noted second, but it’s not far off in the verse with De Atley‘s throaty shouts delivering lyrics — and buried under the dense tone of “Faded Dune” is a classic stoner rock janga-janga swing, which is maintained as De Atley and Brasch come together in the midsection on vocals, lending the feeling of a landmark for the record as a whole right around its halfway point.
“Faded Dune” ends by shifting into a mellow jam for its final minute, a noodly lead winding out over steady drums and clicked-off clean bass. With the presumption that that’s where the vinyl split is, Lost Season begins side B with the atmospheric unfurling of “Dusty,” the clean-sung verse reminiscent of Ealdor Bealu in parts but still well within the realm of Sorcia‘s own take, Brasch again providing accent lines and adding to the build. The volume kick is at 3:51, and for a brief moment the song is admirably Crowbar-esque, but they’re soon off into the solo section, through a dual-vocal rendition of the hook as a crescendo before ending quieter with Marcey‘s drums the last to go and second to arrive in “Entering the Eighth House” behind the amplifier hum that shortly riff-plods with Sleepy abandon — and, crucially, patience — through the closer’s own movement toward and through an apex, the final arrangement between De Atley and Brasch underscoring how crucial their shared lead-singer duties have been to the record all along.
Lost Season may be taking into account the fact that Sorcia could do precious little to support their first full-length at the time of its release, but it’s no loss itself. They have not reinvented their sound, but there is definite and audible growth in their craft — it’s what I meant by ‘incremental’ above; I’m saying I think they’ll continue to grow as they’ve shown themselves having done here — and the material benefits from what feels like a careful hand in some places and one willing to let some exploration happen in others. Compare the verse/chorus interplay on “Miss Ann Thrope” and the ending of “Dusty,” for example. Or the layering of lines in the emergent nod of the verse to “Entering the Eighth House” and the jam in “Faded Dune.” Part of what makes Lost Season work is that each piece flows into the next and comes to feel like a part of the whole movement, the trio seeming to dig deeper as they go.
And in conjunction with the obvious care put into laying out the vocals in terms of who’s where, doing what, and when, Lost Season shows Sorcia working toward a mature approach that suits them well, somewhat raw instrumentally but able to convey a sense of depth just the same. One would expect them to keep accruing confidence as a result of their efforts here, and that’s only going to make them stronger their next time out. Easy win for all parties involved, including the listener.
If you hadn’t already caught on to their stuff — and I know you had because you’re cool like that; I’m talking to someone else — you’ll find “Miss Ann Thrope” streaming on the player below as the first single from Lost Season. Once again, release date is July 21 through Desert Records. More info, including live dates (click the poster to enlarge, click again to shrink), follows the song on the player below.
Enjoy:
“Miss Ann Thrope is the personification of animosity towards humanity.” – Sorcia
Seattle stoner/doom trio SORCIA prepare to unleash their highly anticipated sophomore full-length ‘LOST SEASON’, their heaviest and most eclectic offering to date.
After releasing their debut album just days before the world shut down in March of 2020, things looked bleak for musicians as they were forced to stare into the unknown. During this dark time, Sorcia persevered by pouring themselves into songwriting, accomplishing not only the completion of a challenging EP, but also this brand new full-length they would reflectively come to name ‘Lost Season’.
This album is a continuance of their dynamic and heavy sound, yet showcases a matured evolution in style with a new exploration of influences. Captured by Tad Doyle at Witch Ape Studio in Seattle, WA with original artwork by Mike Hawkins, Sorcia are pleased to be working with Desert Records to release ‘Lost Season’ out into the world on July 21st, 2023.
Tracklisting:
1. Miss Ann Thrope
2. An Axe Named Otis
3. Faded Dune
4. Dusty
5. Entering the Eighth House
Credits:
All music written and performed by Sorcia
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Tad Doyle at Witch Ape Studio in Seattle, WA
Original artwork by Mike Hawkins at Human For Now Studio
Layout by Jessica Brasch
Photography by Jessica and Jesse Brasch
Sorcia are:
Neal De Atley – Guitars/Vocals
Jessica Brasch – Bass/Vocals
Bryson Marcey – Drums
Hell Yeah!
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