[Photo by Dana Wachs]
Here’s something we didn’t see coming: Vice has signed Growing and set April 6 as the release date of the trio’s latest disc, Pumps. Yes, trio. As you may or may not have heard, Growing’s core drone-on duo, bassist Kevin Doria and guitarist Joe Denardo, brought Sadie Laska (see also: the Gang Gang Dance side project I.U.D.) into the fold in late 2008. According to a press release, she brings “varied electronics, samples, and vocal parts” to the group’s ever-evolving sound, something they perfected at Brooklyn’s Ocropolis studio between March and October of last year. While the album’s initial studio session only took four or five days, many months were devoted to mixing and tweaking its eight tracks, one of which is presented below along with one of the sickest experimental music sleeves we’ve seen in a while.
In case you’re wondering what the rest of the record sounds like, think Fuck Buttons–Growing’s tour mates last fall–with one foot on the dance floor and the other stuck in some sort of time warp. Let’s just say you’ll find it hard to believe this is the same band that produced such blissful, widescreen LPs as The Sky’s Run Into the Sea…in a good way.
Pumps:
1. Short Circuit
2. Hormone
3. Massive Dropout
4. Camera 84
5. Challenger
6. Highlight
7. Drone Burger
8. Mind Eraser
