| www.absolutepunk.net/damiera | Information | Music Player The Billboard When one door closes, another one opens. Damiera, version 2.0, is here and a force to be reckoned with. After a tough year of relentless touring and a brief break-up, Damiera – with almost an entirely new line-up – delivers Quiet Mouth Loud Hands, eleven solid tracks that display a great range of influences, talent and musicianship.
After the former line-up disbanded last year, founding member Dave Raymond (guitar, vocals) approached Joshua Sparks (drums) and Steve Downs (guitar) in Iowa just after their previous bands broke up to rekindle Damiera. Jayson DeZuzio (bass), the producer on Damiera’s first album M(US)IC , was aware of the situation and stepped up to round out the line-up. Coming from all over, they no longer call Buffalo, NY home, but rather consider their hometown as the United States.
DeZuzio, whose resume includes album credits with Coheed and Cambria and My Chemical Romance, had a heavy hand in Quiet Mouth Loud Hands. “I had a very clear vision of what I wanted this to be and the direction I wanted the band to go in,” he explains. “We soon realized this was everyone's vision and we were on the same page since day one. I think as soon as you pop the disc in you will recognize how only we could have created this album.”
Homeless and couch surfing in Buffalo, NY, the band did all of the writing and recording simultaneously in the studio they built inside of an abandoned school they used as a rehearsal space. “We heard through word of mouth that there was a school being stripped down and auctioned off and a woman bought the whole thing and rents out space to artists,” explains Raymond. “We were in an old science room/wing at the top of the building, where no one else traveled to alone.”
The sophomore release on Equal Vision Records is self-produced and engineered. “Writing this album was unique,” says Raymond, “only because I can’t imagine any other bands choosing to do it the way we did.” Downs adds, “It is unlike any recording I have been a part of.”
“Writing is a very organic process,” adds DeZuzio. “Dave and I will have ideas and we use that to bring to the other guys and really finish writing the arrangement. Anything can change at any time and we are not happy until everyone agrees and wants to move on. If we are ever known for anything I would like it to be for being great songwriters so my goal is consistent.”
Less moody than M(US)IC, and with vocals on the record ranging four octaves, Quiet Mouth Loud Hands sustains attitude and demands your attention with layers of melodic, intricate guitars mixed with and clear, catchy vocals mixing it up with both staccato and legato melodies. Also using their environment as inspiration, they included lush reverbs and dense echoes all created within the abandoned school. While Quiet Mouth Loud Hands certainly flows, it’s difficult to pigeon-hole the overall sound into one category. Damiera brings a hybrid of indie and progressive rock with the easiest references including a mix of At the Drive-In, Braid, Faraquet and former label-mates, Coheed and Cambria.
The less moody feel of Quiet Mouth Loud Hands reflects the bands internal attitude as well. Last year Damiera became victims of a great deal of negativity. Now, the band is just trying to stay positive. “It’s key that we enjoy ourselves and realize the opportunities that we have in front of us,” says Downs. Currently on tour with a fresh attitude and a release date of June 24, 2008 for Quiet Mouth Loud Hands, the future looks bright; a new door has opened for Damiera.
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Displaying wall posts 1 - 15 of 81. | | |
Registered User
Posts: 1 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 01:53 PM (06/27/08)
Offline | I think this album is genius it leaves me wondering at the turn of each phrase yet keeps me wanting to move throughout almost the entire CD. I love the poppy influences that make me want to bop my head in the car and the dark underlying melodies. Furthermore the broken and staccato rhythms which are my favorite part of the albums are amazing michael jackson couldnt have made catchier rhythms thanks for a great experience guys.
Damiera 2.0 is an improvement by far for me |
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Registered User
Posts: 25 | Joined: Jun 2007 | | 09:35 AM (06/20/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by TBSguitar
great albums can include catchy hooks and melodies, except the point is great albums make you love it after the first listen. you want to play it constantly, find out what you missed before and love it even more. maybe some albums take longer to listen to because the tracks become great. i might have been disappointed, but i'm not bitching about it. i'll give it a listen and if i enjoy it, great i hope they make it on vinyl. if i don't that's even better, gives me time for the better music out there. |
i disagree completely about how you think great albums are the ones you love after the first listen. great albums can always grow on you. hell it might even take a long time until you finally realize its alot better than you initially thought. i remember the first time i heard "Deloused in the Comatorium" by the Mars Volta, i could not stand it. then after about a month of not even bothering to listen to it, i listened to it again and was blown away. you gotta give things time sometimes.
as for the new damiera album, i was insanely disappointed by it at first (for a number of reasons), but since then i continued giving it more chances to see if it would grow on me, and it definitely did. its one of my favorite albums at the moment |
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Registered User
Posts: 10 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 09:25 AM (06/20/08)
Offline | | Ya know, I actually was only lukewarm on M(US)IC the first time or two I heard it. It's now my favorite album and Damiera is now my favorite band. Actually, I can only think of a couple albums that I immediately liked the first time I heard them, so I think it's totally reasonable that it could take more than one listen for you to really love it or appreciate it. I loved it the first listen though... |
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Odd Man Out
Posts: 309 | Joined: Mar 2003 | | 10:54 PM (06/19/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by GeeBee
Great albums don't have to grow on you? Yeah, if only all albums were bubble-gum pop with immediately catchy hooks and melodies that were pleasing on the first listen...come on, man. Like the others, quit bitching until you've heard the whole thing. |
great albums can include catchy hooks and melodies, except the point is great albums make you love it after the first listen. you want to play it constantly, find out what you missed before and love it even more. maybe some albums take longer to listen to because the tracks become great. i might have been disappointed, but i'm not bitching about it. i'll give it a listen and if i enjoy it, great i hope they make it on vinyl. if i don't that's even better, gives me time for the better music out there. |
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ICU81MI?
Posts: 1,339 | Joined: Mar 2008 | | 05:28 PM (06/18/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by TBSguitar the new songs are alright, but overall really disappointing...maybe the songs just need to grow on me, but great albums shouldn't have to do that, should they? |
Great albums don't have to grow on you? Yeah, if only all albums were bubble-gum pop with immediately catchy hooks and melodies that were pleasing on the first listen...come on, man. Like the others, quit bitching until you've heard the whole thing. |
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Odd Man Out
Posts: 309 | Joined: Mar 2003 | | 02:21 PM (06/18/08)
Offline | | the new songs are alright, but overall really disappointing. and no i have not heard the whole album, so you might get me there. except when i first heard of damiera with "via invested" it was enough for me to fall in love with them, tell all my friends to check them out, and buy the album, which is stellar all the way through. the intense a.d.d. prog-rock duel guitar style was speechless, intelligent and astounding lyrics sung with extreme passion, and the flawless rhythm section that was enough to keep you interested. they still have those elements, it just feels as if they've knocked it down one too many notches for a darker indie sound. that's not entirely bad, it's a let down. maybe the songs just need to grow on me, but great albums shouldn't have to do that, should they? |
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Registered User
Posts: 1 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 11:32 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | Ugh. Once again some people like to bitch about something new sounding different than the older stuff did. Go figure. Dudes, I LOVE the fact that it doesn't sound exactly like M(us)ic did. That's the whole point. If it sounded exactly like the last album why would I buy this one? I'd just throw m(us)ic back in the cd player. Go ahead and bitch about how you think it sounds like "pop radio BS," because the only reason you are bitching is because you are afraid they will be popular and you won't get to like them as a relatively obscure band anymore. Boo-fucking-hoo.
Dave, as always, keep on doin what you're doin. Can't wait to see you at BJs again (when I've actually learned the songs). |
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Random Human
Posts: 41 | Joined: Mar 2006 | | 07:27 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | | This sounds great. i havent bought an album in a while...and I am buying this. |
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Registered User
Posts: 55 | Joined: Mar 2006 | | 05:24 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by jianders Wow. MU(S)IC was great. Nailbiter reminded me of that. "Teacher, Preacher" sounds like Maroon 5. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. Absolute Punk? Try absolute garbage. Kind of glad that Dave was sick for the Michigan show. Wouldn't have wanted to see this train wreck so close. Sorry guys, I have to be honest. I just hope the rest of Quiet Mouth, Loud Hands is more Damiera and less Pop-Radio BS. Whatever happened to writing songs like "The Disillusionist?" There is no need to become a dance band. Give it up. OK, I'm done. |
You have every right to dislike a composition, a piece of art, a poem, a movie, a performance...this is your right not as an American, but as a human. However, it is not only childish, but wholly irresponsible to say something like "You guys should be ashamed of yourselves." You set a poor example, and your words only contribute to the further degradation of a scene that is - at least - already struggling. It exhibits a lack of understanding of the subjectivity of art, as well as a certain musical immaturity.
By all means, talk about how you don't like this record as much as either of the others; mention that you preferred the other lineup; discuss bands in the same genre that you like more, but don't say things like "Give it up." You only exhibit your own pleading social ignorance. These are words that could only come from the mouth of someone who has never had to deal with serious adversity in relation to their own creative output. These are words that could only come from the mouth of someone whose life exists outside any serious division of the music business- someone who could not possibly comprehend the level of raw effort required by the process of writing, rehearsing, demoing, recording, mixing, and mastering an entire album's worth of original material (let alone touring on it, promoting it, and simply dealing with how people react to it.) You know what they say- those that can't, critique.
I'm not 100% behind everything on this record, either, but I am familiar enough with Damiera's material to understand their now 4-year progression. Even if I wasn't, I have worked in this industry long enough to understand which methods of response are appropriate and which are inappropriate. I can't remember the last time I heard an album whose content I enjoyed without fail (PBC's "The Redder, The Better" comes close). In light of the astounding number of unenjoyable, unoriginal records that have been promoted on this site in the past few years...the sheer quantity of sameness present in this scene...you should be unequivocally happy that there is even one song on this record that you like, even one band that sticks out as unique in this sea of utterly whack shit. |
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Registered User
Posts: 55 | Joined: Mar 2006 | | 04:00 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by tagregorchik
Before the whole new line-up, I am pretty sure that Dave wrote mostly everything, and the others just played what he wrote. On Quiet Mouth Loud Hands, it was a more collaborative effort, hence the different/new sound(s). I saw them a few months ago in Pittsburgh and they only played two old songs out of a set of mostly QMLH material, and everything sounded alright, but it was definitely in a different direction than M(US)IC. I just miss the quick time changes and how the drums followed the ridiculous guitar parts. |
Dave did not write all the material- this is especially evident in the compositional differences between Rock's and Steve's lead lines, and the differences in the manner in which Brad and Josh treat implying duple meter over mixed meter...also, Mark tended to play more melodic contrapuntal stuff, whereas Jayson tends to stick to more rooted lines |
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Registered User
Posts: 2 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 02:47 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | | and to build on the previous discussion, "teacher preacher" proves what i've always said, which is that damiera can do anything that a major label band can do, only better, while being homeless. |
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Registered User
Posts: 2 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 02:40 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | | So I'm supposed to wait 5 hours?? its five o clock my time right now!!!!! |
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Registered User
Posts: 1 | Joined: Jun 2008 | | 01:30 PM (06/17/08)
Offline | Originally Posted by sargentlgfuad
they have a whole new band, besides the lead singer, since the last album
so you think they're going to just follow what M(US)IC did?
its basically a completely new band!
and its great/different stuff than usual. |
Before the whole new line-up, I am pretty sure that Dave wrote mostly everything, and the others just played what he wrote. On Quiet Mouth Loud Hands, it was a more collaborative effort, hence the different/new sound(s). I saw them a few months ago in Pittsburgh and they only played two old songs out of a set of mostly QMLH material, and everything sounded alright, but it was definitely in a different direction than M(US)IC. I just miss the quick time changes and how the drums followed the ridiculous guitar parts. |
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