That you got a taste of Kristina Esfandiari (WHIRR, KING WOMAN) other projects after yesterday's review is not entirely surprising, for it was so good and I just felt in love with her :) and needed to get more, I'mm sure you know that feeling.
MISERABLE is an a where we finds her at her most vulnerable and emotional. Oscillating between shoegaze and dream pop, her music dwells in a soft, meditative space that reverberates with thoughtfulness.
Today's tune "Damned To Love You" is a single released February 27, 2020. Kristina Esfandiari voice scales cresting waves of nostalgia, buoyed by plucked guitar arpeggios drenched in 60’s style spring reverb. Just wonderful, enjoy!
KING WOMAN is a band who haunts you. Their stunning debut full-length, "Created in the Image of Suffering", is a crushing yet bleak listen and “Deny” is perhaps the most powerful piece of the album, check it out here!.
Formed in 2009 by Kristina Esfandiari, the Bay Area’s KING WOMAN began as a solo project then later developed into a full band. Over the course of the last seven years, KING WOMAN have crafted a sound thoroughly their own – a sound that harnesses the elastic textures and temporality of drone and doom metal alongside the strength and evocative power of artists like Mazzy Star, Royal Thunder, Grouper, and many more. The band’s debut EP Doubt (released on leading SF avantgarde imprint The Flenser in 2014) paired weighty subject matter such as religious abuse (which allowed Esfandiari’s lyrical ingenuity to really shine) with cathartic, brooding, and hypnotic songwriting with a transcendental feel.
With Esfandiari’s lush and dramatic vocals, KING WOMAN go far beyond mere stoner metal. The band’s compositions call to mind rich, detailed imagery and powerful atmospheres that elevate their music beyond classification. KING WOMAN‘s mystical sound resonated strongly enough to catch the attention of Relapse Records, who signed KING WOMAN in 2016. KING WOMAN‘s debut full-length "Created in the Image of Suffering", recorded at Jack Shirley’s Atomic Garden was released in February 2017.
KING WOMAN is:
Kristina Esfandiari, Colin Gallagher, Joey Raygoza, Peter Arensdorf
Today’s tune ”Manna” is taken from the new album "Created in the Image of Suffering”. A soft calling vocal haunt and creeping guitar lead the set, Kristina Esfandiari’s powerful multilayered vocals never let the listener feel completely comfortable.
San Francisco's KING WOMAN unveil their debut full-length "Created In The Image of Suffering", a profoundly crafted opus of brooding, ethereal doom-rock. Led by the hypnotic and breathy vocal dramatics of Kristina Esfandiari, KING WOMAN harness the elastic textures and temporality of drone and metallic shoegaze alongside the transcendental, melancholic power of doom. Recorded with engineer Jack Shirley (DEAFHEAVEN, WRECK & REFERENCE, OATHBREAKER) at the Atomic Garden, "Created In The Image of Suffering’s" seven compositions evoke rich, gloomy imagery with crumbling washes of blurred, billowing distortion densely layered atop hazy, psychedelic atmospheres that call to mind a surrealistic Black Sabbath fronted by Mazzy Star. Complete with deeply personal, introspective lyrics that serve as catharsis for years of religious and mental torment, KING WOMAN truly suffer to create their art.
"Created In The Image of Suffering” releases February 24, 2017
KING WOMAN Consists of:
Kristina Esfandiari, Colin Gallagher, Joey Raygoza, Peter Arensdorf
Today’s tune "Deny” taken from the upcoming album "Created in the Image of Suffering”, due out February 24th, 2017 on CD/LP/Digital via Relapse Records. Pre-order here!
