Wolf Prayer Premiere “Shapeshifter” Video; Echoes of the Second Sun out July 5
Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 20th, 2019 by JJ KoczanCome along with me for a little bit and be excited about new music. I’ll tell you outright, it’s one of my favorite things — to hear a band I’ve never heard before, get a sense of what they’re about, and look forward to hearing more. Enter fuzzy German nod rock three-piece Wolf Prayer and “Shapeshifter,” which serves as the lead public audio for their debut album, Echoes of the Second Sun. Set to be released July 5 through Barhill Records, the eight-song long-player follows a 2015 self-titled EP (also issued digitally by Barhill this year) and I’d love to tell you more about it, but I haven’t heard the thing. That’s right, I’m rolling out just on what you see and hear below, and from where I sit — my kitchen table, pre-dawn, dutiful coffee mug at my side — that’s about all I need.
Not the least because “Shapeshifter” is seven minutes long. Yeah, that helps. But as Wolf Prayer — whose moniker is also stylized all-lowercase and who are comprised of guitarist/vocalist Jan, bassist Tim and drummer Matthias — dip into the initial Dead Meadow-style fuzz rollout of the track, it’s easy to lose a sense of time anyway. Tone is a definite appeal, but as the early going unfolds, Wolf Prayer sleek their way into a dreamy verse of open space and sparse guitar strum. The drums and bass hold steady beneath the vocals, and you just know that first riff is coming back sooner or later, but Wolf Prayer show a willingness to take their time in a way that bodes well for future output, and the melody is a highlight independent of the immediate groove. Indeed, they build back up to the fuzzier tone and make their way through a howling lead, and then, like Witch before them, they turn suddenly back to the intro riff gloriously to close out. It’s not overdone. It’s not underdone. It’s done just right.
The video is simple enough; some old horror footage of Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney as the Wolfman, then some performance footage. But of course the song itself is the highlight, and as a substantial teaser for the record to come, I readily consider my interest piqued. I will look forward to hearing more and to getting to know the record as we get closer to its release just as summer begins to swelter, and in the meantime, I’m happy to dig the smooth and easy roll they bring to bear across “Shapeshifter.” Frankly, if they’d wanted to jam that riff for another two or three minutes at the end of the song, I doubt they’d hear many complaints.
Happy to host the premiere. PR wire info follows, including live dates.
I hope you enjoy:
Wolf Prayer, “Shapeshifter” official video premiere
Wolf Prayer on “Shapeshifter”:
The first single “Shapeshifter” is musically true to its title: constantly changing and constructing, the song is about losing oneself if you play-act for others. The video to the song goes hand in hand with this and portrays the tragic story of the most famous shapeshifter, combined with live impressions of the first Wolf Prayer tour in 2017.
“Shapeshifter” is taken from the Wolf Prayer debut album „Echoes Of The Second Sun“. The three-piece from the southwest of Germany combines space-, stoner and psychedelic rock influences in their songs and let themselves drift along. The album is out on the 5th of July 2019 as limited LP bundle, LP, CD and digitally on Barhill Records (Distribution: Cargo Records).
Since their formation in 2015 and the release of their self titled EP, wolf prayer, the fuzz-driven trio from southwest-Germany finally managed to realize their debut album „Echoes Of The Second Sun“ with the help of Barhill Records. They’ve worked with Love Station Studio and the Grammy Award winning Emil Berliner Studios.
The exclusive pre-order already started: https://barhillrecords.de/pre-order-wolf-prayers-echoes-of-the-second-sun/
Live dates:
04.07.2019 Hannover // Rocker
05.07.2019 Dortmund // Big Tipi Beats
06.07.2019 Bielefeld // Extra Blues Bar
26.07.2019 Breitenbach am Herzberg // Burg Herzberg Festival
17.10.2019 Bayreuth // Glashaus
18.10.2019 Dachau // Freiraum
19.10.2019 Saarbrücken // Kleiner Klub
Wolf Prayer is:
Jan (Vocals, Guitar)
Matthias (Drums)
Tim (Bass)