who's smoking your spirit?

ICYMI: The new Big Hush EP is out now in a limited run of 100 gorgeous goldenrod cassettes! After all the pre-orders and tapes that were snatched up at the release show (which received some kind words in the Washington Post), there are less than 10 copies left in the merch store, though you can still get them directly from the band at all upcoming gigs. ✌

"Who's Smoking Your Spirit?" has already received some solid coverage from the likes of WAMU Bandwidth, Post-Trash [1] [2], Washington City Paper [1] [2], and DC Music Download [1] [2].

"[Who's Smoking Your Spirit?] exposes the band’s knack for infectious hooks. On “Cold Shoulder,” pulsing guitar and bass ride distortion to the front of the mix, while the dual vocals seem to exist on another plane entirely. Then, more than two-and-a-half minutes into the track’s gurgle and feedback, a pop song breaks out, with Ludwig momentarily winning a battle with the music, long enough to deliver the album’s catchiest refrain. It’s just a moment, of course. Big Hush still dabbles in shoegaze even when the drift and reverb seems to be holding a decent pop song’s head underwater." - Washington City Paper

"The EP’s five tracks, which merge together like ingredients in a murky stew, sound like an updated version of [My Bloody Valentine]" - WAMU Bandwidth

"Halfway between shoegaze and surf guitar is Big Hush, a DC band that makes a lot more noise than their name would suggest." - Black Cat 

"Mournful, sighing melodies sink deep as they play with surf and post-rock rhythms, while shoegaze feels more and more limited as a descriptor with every release." - Washington City Paper

Thanks to all the publications above and to everyone who has supported the release thus far! Stay tuned for more gigs in the near future, and don't miss these great lineups coming to the District:

Saturday, December 12 at Songbyrd Music House

Hemlines w/ The Effects, Wing Dam, and Wet Brain

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, December 13 at Hole In The Sky

Escape From DC Brunch IX: Princess Reason, Go Cozy, and Airhead DC

(click flyer to RSVP)

Sunday, December 20 at Songbyrd Music House

Rick (from Pile), Snail Mail, Mattress Financial, and Charlie Down

(click flyer to RSVP)

And if all that weren't enough, there's one more bit of happy news coming out of Romantic States' camp. The band was able to raise enough money from fan purchases to adopt a manatee through the Save The Manatee Club! Margarito is an endangered West Indian manatee, known for being very curious, friendly, and social. He can be identified by a number of scars from watercraft strikes, and from his missing left flipper, which he lost after it was badly entangled in fishing line. Please dispose of your fishing line properly and be kind to animals!

romantic states

"Romantic States forge their path with little more than guitar, drums and voice but their success lies in what they achieve outside of these components. Immeasurable as these things often are, there’s a sense of melodrama that bleeds out of these tracks, a longing that you just can’t place. It’s there in the emphatic build of opening track ‘Watched By An Animal‘ and more prominently in the (beautiful) ugliness of ‘Frozen In Place‘. This muted charm runs like the lifeblood right through the heart of Romantic States, breathing fire in to its more raucous moments while propping up the more disillusioned passages where it slows to a quietened sigh, lost, to some extent, within the confines of the world it’s created for itself. A downbeat and fiery collection of songs that never settles, never quite finds the answers that it sets out to, but one that builds itself up regardless, in to something that, for all the disjointed elements that surrounds, still manages to portray an unexpected feeling of beauty."

Endless thanks to GoldFlakePaint for the glowing remarks above and for premiering the new album in its entirety, and additionally to The Le Sigh for their write-up on "Nettles" in which they refer to the band's sound as "intimate, a little experimental, and subtly beautiful".

The duo is celebrating the release of their new cassette with a string of shows this weekend around the DMV. Click the flyers below to RSVP, and if you can't make it to one of these gigs, keep your eyes open for more shows around the Mid-Atlantic region this month!

On Friday, February 6, they'll be playing for the hometown crowd in Baltimore at the Penthouse Gallery with a splendid bill of talented acts from their creative corner of the world including Post Pink, Boy Spit, Rosemary Krust, and Princess Reason.

The afternoon of Saturday, February 7 in DC will be a benefit show for local pirate community radio station 97.5 FM Radio CPR. The station has been a staple for the Mt. Pleasant community for about 15 years and plays host to a wide variety of shows ranging from community news and sociopolitical commentary to independent music from DC and all of the world. The gig will feature DZ favorites Mattress Financial and a rare solo set from Chris Taylor of Big Hush / Pygmy Lush / Pg. 99 as The Creature People.

That same night in Harrisonburg, VA, Jim and Ilenia will be joined by Sailor Ripley and Fresh Hell at MyMansion.

Stream of download the new album for free using the player at the top of the post! Cassettes are pro-dubbed on a solid pink shell and hand-numbered out of 100 - for those of you unable to catch the band in the flesh, you can grip a copy of the tape from the merch store. Thanks for taking the time to check it out~ ✌

misplaced lobe

Production on DZ09 is in its final stages, and after a few months of setbacks I'm happy to announce the release of the second DZ mixtape. Featuring over 20 tracks from various artists from the independent international DZ community, DYVNZMBR2 will be available in limited numbers starting mid-June. As with its predecessor, the mix covers a vast variety of experimental electronica that's sure to take your primary auditory cortex on rollercoaster ride. Check out some sample tracks below and stay tuned for more information coming soon.

Earlier this month at DZ HQ, we were lucky enough to host a handful of talented artists from the local area join us at the Dougout for an early evening showcase. The performances were are beautiful, and I'd like to thank everyone who came out for their support. 

Peals enveloped the audience with blissful, meditative layers of gentle guitars, quiet keys and other abstract sonic tools to create a cerebral concoction of auditory intimacy. The band performed a collection of cuts from their newly released LP "Walking Field", currently available from Thrill Jockey. The duo was joined by fellow Baltimore acts Romantic States and Amanda Schmidt, both sharing their own distinctly delicate minimalist oscillations, and Princess Reason from College Park's Tricot Records, who helped round out the group with their unique blend of sentimental pop.

Peals (courtesy of Nano)

"pinnacle of peals"

Peals (courtesy of Charity)

Princess Reason (courtesy of Nano)

post...er...

Mr. Sean Berg has done it again. Check out the awesome screen print this man has concocted for the upcoming show at the Dougout featuring Peals, Romantic States, Princess Reason and Amanda Schmidt. As always, a limited number of posters will be available at the show, and you can pick one up for FREE with the purchase of any band merchandise. For more details on the show, click the image below to be taken to the event page.

Angular Peals

Birkwin Jersey released a new video today for "Angular Danson" featuring some mesmerizing visuals. Check it out below, and if you've been waiting to pick up a copy of "Between The Weather And The Sea", there's no better time than the present! Check out the Shop to pick up one of the last remaining copies.



DZ TAPES is hosting its next atmospheric audio showcase on May 19. If you're in the Washington DC area, feel free to stop on by for a low-key Sunday night slow-burner featuring some up-and-coming organic electronica from Baltimore and one act from College Park's cassette champions at Tricot Records. Click the flyer below for more information at the event page.

Acts include:

∞ PEALS (members of Future Islands and Double Dagger) create warm, textural, organic instrumental music and will be celebrating the release of their debut LP “Walking Field”, out May 14 on prolific Thrill Jockey

∞∞ ROMANTIC STATES play weird, skeletal folk pop, and are coming back to the Dougout to share some mellow cuts from the “Vessels of Devils” LP, self-released this past March.

∞∞∞ PRINCESS REASON is an intimate lo-fi indie pop project from College Park and will be playing humble new tracks including ones from the “Always Pretty” EP featured on Tricot Records.

∞∞∞∞ AMANDA SCHMIDT plays a peaceful mix of keys and pedals, but her enigmatic recordings remain buried on the moon's deepest crater.