Samothrace – Life’s Trade

by Cosmo Lee

First Cough, then Thou, then Samothrace – it’s a great time for American sludge/doom. Why this Lawrence, KS outfit named itself for a Greek island is unclear, as it sounds distinctly American. Big slabs of downtuned dirt abut melodies that recall Earth’s leanings towards Americana. In fact, this record might satisfy those disappointed by Earth’s recent refusal to drop the hammer. It has the soul – the jangle, the blues – but it also has the weight, constantly shifting tectonic plates so that slow never becomes static. These tracks are 10 minutes plus, and they feel much shorter. On only its debut, this band has mastered the momentum that makes good doom much more than just slow tempos. (Add Renata Castagna to the list of worthy extreme metal axewomen.) Producer du jour Sanford Parker turns in a reliably thick, naturalistic recording.

Awkward Hearts (excerpt)
Cacophony (excerpt)

David D’Andrea refracts the floral/angelic theme of Tom Denney’s previous artwork for Samothrace (which is extremely similar to his cover for Sourvein’s Ghetto Angel) into a lovely gold/black package. The LP version comes in double gatefold vinyl with a poster (gold vinyl limited to 150 copies); mailorder copies include a patch and sticker. This is yet another killer release this year for 20 Buck Spin, who have a spiffy new label/distro website.

- Buy -
Amazon (MP3)
20 Buck Spin (CD)
20 Buck Spin (Vinyl – Gold)
20 Buck Spin (Vinyl – Black)

- Upcoming tour dates -

10/16 The Grill/ROTC – Fayetteville, AR w/Deadbird, Dirtmother
10/17 Noel, Lisa, Cedric, etc… House – Tulsa, OK
10/18 Conservatory – Oklahoma City, OK w/The Flood
10/19 Spinks @ Neil Diamond – Oklahoma City, OK
10/22 Replay – Lawrence, KS w/Rabbid Rabbit
10/23 Blast-Mat – Denver, CO w/Burn Heavy
10/24 TBA – Albuquerque, NM
10/25 TBA – Flagstaff, AZ
10/26 TBA – Phoenix, AZ
10/27 House Show @ Chuey/Jaime’s – Los Angeles, CA w/Barren
10/28 Hazmat – Oakland, CA w/Embers
10/29 Thee Parkside Bar – San Francisco, CA w/Giant Squid
10/30 Monstros Pizza – Chico, CA w/The Makai
10/31 Halloween Show in PDX – Portland, OR
11/01 Squid and Ink – Seattle, WA
11/02 Green Frog Acoustic Room – Bellingham, WA w/Piano Mover
11/03 TBA – Tacoma, WA
11/04 TBA – Olympia, WA
11/05 TBA – Portland, OR
11/06 TBA – Boise, ID
11/07 TBA – Salt Lake City, UT
11/08 Curtis St. Bar – Denver, CO
11/09 TBA – Lincoln, NE
11/10 Arts Center – Vermillion, SD w/Servium
11/11 TBA – Fargo, ND
11/12 TBA – Minneapolis, MN

- For TBA dates help and info, contact band MySpace -