The Dreaded Laramie
The Dreaded Laramie is a power-pop femmecore band in a long-distance relationship between Lexington, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee. This band of best buds first got ears buzzing with their 2019 debut The Dreaded LaramiE.P., produced by Adam Meisterhans of West Virginia riff merchants Rozwell Kid. The record was hailed by The Alternative as “[rivaling] the royalty of the genre”, while Music City taste makers Lightning 100 branded them as a “must listen”, not to mention the radio rotation from the Rocky Mountains to the British Isles.
The Dreaded Laramie join a growing chorus of young Southern bands challenging what it is to be normal. Bassist Drew Swisher explains “normalcy defines our dreams and what we think is possible. But everybody’s weird, we just try desperately to hide it.” In their songs, The Dreaded Laramie celebrate living authentically with vocalist/guitarist MC Cunningham delivering thoughtful dispatches on gender expectations, insecurity, and a healthy portion of all-consuming crushes.
Vitally, this is a band for whom having an emotional heart-to-heart and having fun are not at odds with each other. Their emotive reflections are served up drenched in shimmering sweet melodies, a decadent dose of harmonized guitar interplay, and a power-punching rhythm section.
Enter 2022, The Dreaded Laramie have been scooped up by California USA's Wiretap Records & Sell The Heart Records in conjunction with us here at Engineer Records for the UK, to deliver their forthcoming, buzz-in-your-ear pop goodness of Everything A Girl Could Ask due out 13 May 2022.
The Dreaded Laramie is:
Zach Anderson: Guitar
M.C. Cunningham: Vocals
Drew Swisher: Bass guitar
Andrew Mankin: Drums
Find more on The Dreaded Laramie:
Web home: http://linktr.ee/thedreadedlaramieband
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thedreadedlaramieband
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thedreadedlarry
Instagram: http://instagram.com/thedreadedlaramieband
Bandcamp: http://thedreadedlaramie.bandcamp.com
Releases
Reviews
New Noise Magazine: http://newnoisemagazine.com/video-premiere-the-dreaded-laramie-tell-me
The Alternative (2019): https://www.getalternative.com/ep-premiere-the-dreaded-laramie-the-dreaded-laramie-p
The Dreaded Laramie are a fuzz-pop band from Nashville that sound like Rozwell Kid crossed with Frankie Cosmos. Or, like, the pulsating might of The Thermals matched with the dynamo pop of Swearin’. Pick your favorite crunchy power-pop band and The Dreaded Laramie probably have something in common. But the glaring difference is that The Dreaded Larami.E. P. (gotta love a good pun title) is this band’s first ever project, and it genuinely rivals the royalty of the genre. Part of that’s due to the crisp and roomy production work from Rozwell Kid guitarist Adam Meisterhans, who’s hand is heard most obviously in the streaky guitar leads of opener “Daffodils & Love.” That’s an egregiously brilliant power-pop song that sees vocalist/guitarist MC Cunningham cooing a Lucy Dacus-tier vocal melody over a lead lick that’d make a young Rivers Cuomo hang up his ax out of shame.
It’s an astoundingly great song but the band effortlessly avoid seesawing the entire tracklist with its forefront placement. The rest of this project is stuffed with memorable riffs, really acutely and cleverly accentuated basslines, and a pop vet’s sense for melody and pacing. “The Matrix” features pillowy “oh-oh-oh” harmonies over its mellow hook, yet still finds time for a papershredding solo to carry it to bed. “Goggles” rushes into focus with an earwormy Dude York-esque riff and a chorus that’s reminiscent of Cocksure-era Laura Stevenson. “Wallace Everette Pratt” sinks into a foot-tapping groove that gradually increases to a full-leg stomper, then the guitars break their hand-hold with the vocal melody to spiral around Cunningham’s full-breath intonations. There’s not a semblance of emo on this thing, but the final song “Pocket Dial” does have somewhat of an Oso Oso “the walk” sheen to its instrumental delivery—but through the lens of Allison Crutchfield.
Again, if you like any of the aforementioned comparisons and/or other bands in that general territory of 2010’s via the 90’s pop-rock music, then you will find something you like on The Dreaded LaramiE. P. If not, then we’ll refund you your click. Or tell you that you’re lame cause these songs are 70-degrees-and-sunny wonderful.