(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): WET PETALS

Sunday, 2 August 2015

WET PETALS

Band: WET PETALS

Genres: Punk / Rock / Emo / Screamo / Hardcore / Skramz / Emo-violence
Related artists: ?.
Country: New Paltz, New York USA
Years Active: 2012-2015
Song: "Cascade"
Album: "Wet Petals II"
Year: 2015
Label(s): Driftwood Records
This post's artist is from the July 2015 Mix. This is track #1.
You can download: the June Mix#7 right here or get the new July 2015 Mix#8 here.
For fans of: Wolverines, мища, Deers!, Father Figure, Innards, Phoenix Bodies, Ice Hockey, People's Temple Project, Adobe Homes and Yusuke aka PROPER SCREAMO.

Ready for a mind fuck? Crestfallen + The Exploration = WET PETALS. Doesn't work for ya? Do you know the two-man screamo band Wolverines? No? Well fuck, I'm out of ideas. WET PETALS play late 2000s era screamo with lots of high pitched shrieking (but not crazy shrieking, like Jeromes Dream) and quick, light guitars and rapid drums. Sometimes the instrumentals stray pretty far and start experimenting with some twinkly, spacey guitars and it helps to really set them apart from other bands. Check out "Cascade" if you wanna here fucking perfection. This song is easily one of my favourites tracks of the year, check it out below or linked here.

The band released 'Demo' in 2012 which consists of only two songs, both of which appear on the first self titled record 'Wet Petals' in 2014. The demo versions are definitely two of their better songs, "Underneath the Plastic Rainbow, Perpetually Bludgeoned by Unicornz" and "Reptilian Love" and remind me most of a more direct and accessible мища. In 2014 they released the aforementioned 'Wet Petals' LP also known as 'ST I'. These songs have some really amazing parts, and are themselves very solid stand alone tracks. "Metamorphic Moon" and "A Soft Prenatal Landscape" are both excellent examples of the band's meandering right and explosive left. "Cellophane Swan" is another great track that sways back and forth for almost three minutes amidst some rolling drumming and anguished screams.

'II' was released in early 2015 digitally and for the most part seemed dismissed on the forums I frequent. Luckily while I was on tour I met some like-minded individuals who shared my love of this record so hopefully we can help get the word out even though the band is finished. As I wrote earlier, "Cascade" is the fucking mad notes. Seriously this is simply fantastic. Those rolling drums push the song over some interesting peaks and valleys with a simplistic yet very effective guitar strumming that will get you bobbing your head along and then that screaming, oh man, that screaming is so good. It reminds me of Phoenix Bodies but probably isn't all that similar. This beaut is followed by another by the name of "Afterpastures" that frantically runs amok for the first minute before settling down and building the final minute into a spectacular finish that combines very well placed screaming with instrumentals that, simply put, are the jamz. "Opium Summer" has very interesting drum work that explodes just after the minute mark with distorted guitars that slide into some Ice Hockey territory before concluding with some amazing 8-bit instrumentals that conclude the song. Fucking genius. And also, amazing. Speaking of amazing, chalk up another one to "Underneath the Plastic Rainbow" which makes another appearance. "An Echo in the Carnage" does what the title says...but only for the first 40 seconds, then the band's signature carnage continues for less than a minute before the song concludes. The album is rounded out with "__________" and the untitled cover of Joanna Newsom's "Peach, Plum, Pear" which is so good it hurts. As you can tell from that last link I love me Joanna Newsom, especially that first full length so this was a pretty crazy surprise that I've been jamming for weeks now. Fucking A+++ (that last + is not drambuie). WET PETALS, please come back.

There has been talk of releasing the band's posthumous final LP 'II' as a 12" but nothing has been confirmed. I can say that labels are interested ;)

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DISCOGRAPHY

2012 - Demo digitalEP (stream/donate/download here)

2014 - Wet Petals (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - Wet Petals II (stream/donate/download here)

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(2015) WET PETALS - "Cascade" (from 'II')