Daughters’ hardcore mayhem; Eric Fontana; Coat of Arms
By BOB GULLA | August 8, 2006
SONIC SLUGFEST: Daughters in repose. |
It could be that with the new Daughters album, Hell Songs, we’ve reached the end of the sonic line. As band after band leapfrogs over the other in an attempt to reach Armageddon, Lex and company may finally have hit the wall. There’s really not much else to say when the band describes itself: “Sometimes he/she forgets to take his/her medication. But that’s okay; there are some things modern medicine will never cure.” One of those things is the irresistibly incorrigible hardcore mayhem of Daughters, Providence’s bastard malcontents. The album is a punk-ass dirtbag explosion, and one of the best out-and-out slugfests the city has produced in a while.“This band is a big pain the ass,” says Daughters mainstay Lex, annoyed after another shift at a mall record store. “Some of us care too much, and some don’t give a shit at all. We’re constantly butting heads. I mean, they’re all friends . . .” And they’re pretty successful too, insomuch as they’ve established a meaningful following outside of town — they’ll be out for a few months, touring from here to California and over to Europe. “I’m thankful that people come out to see us,” says Lex. “It would be a shame to go on tour and play to nobody. At times in certain places people don’t give a fuck. But sometimes it seems like they really care, like in California and Texas.”
Not that Lex is ready for his upcoming trip. “Something tragic always happens when we tour,” he rues. “Plus, I have no cash.” And the band isn’t all that big on preparation. “I sit around, work, and all of a sudden I have to leave.”
Lex and the band took that laissez faire philosophy into the studio for Hell Songs. Lex, who writes the material, doesn’t rehearse with the band. So when it came time to venture to Brooklyn and record (produced with Andrew Schneider, who has worked with Scissorfight, Blue Man Group, Cave In, and Keelhaul), no one knew what to expect when Lex came into sing. The studio was the first place that the band had heard him share the stuff they’d been working on. “I try not to involve myself in rehearsal. My thing is playing live and singing on stage. I hate recording, I hate it so much.” But everyone else in the band wanted to do it and it sure helps to have something to sell when you’re on the road, “Schneider was great,” says Lex. “He’s so thorough; he’s like the epitome of a lot of shit I hate about the studio, like, ‘Why don’t you try that again?’ or ‘Can you change that line?’ Leave me alone, I wanna go the liquor store, sit down and drink.”
DAUGHTERS + ATHLETIC AUTOMATON + TINY HAWKS + VAZ + BADMAN + MISS ALLISON + DJ ERIC PAUL [OF CHINESE STARS] | CD release show at the Living Room | Aug 12 | 401.521.5200
Eric Fontana
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