Trauma Ray is a towering shoegaze band from Fort Worth, Texas. We’ve been big fans of them for a while; last year’s debut EP (Trauma Ray) was an underrated gem, and lead single “Blend” was a particularly mesmerizing highlight. Now the group has shared a split single featuring a pair of excellent new tracks “Wmd” and “Grind.”
Frontman Uriel Avila possesses one of the most wondrous and soothing singing voices around, his vocals absolutely floating over the staticky, hazy power chords of “Wmd.” Right out of the gate, a wall of thunderous guitar riffs propel the track to stratospheric heights. For all the layers of fuzz and atmospheric dissonance, it’s a remarkably melodic song, with moments of airy sonic calmness blending effortlessly into a series of epic shoegaze crescendos. Meanwhile, “Grind” starts out slowly with simmering lo-fi chords and pulsating drums, eventually adding layers of ominous, screeching feedback and grinding baselines. “Grind” contains more cacophonous layers which bleed into the track’s searing noise breakdowns. Overall, it’s an epic, dreamy slice of noise-rock that’s got us pining for Trauma Ray’s next big move. You can purchase WMD/Grind HERE, and sample it below via Bandcamp.
