Dead Rider
For the past year and a half, the band formerly known as D. Rider has been busy recording, playing shows… and adding to their lineup. In 2009 they released their critically acclaimed debut album, Mother Of Curses, while playing shows across the country. The original lineup of Todd Rittmann (vocals, guitar, harmonica, drums), Andrea Faught (synth, vocals, horns), and Noah Tabakin (saxophone, vocals, synth) saw the addition of Theo Katsaounis on drums to complete a live act that would tour the country and gain a reputation as a challenging and entertaining powerhouse.
In early 2010, the band continued to play live, and between tours, headed into their studio to start recording tracks for their next effort: The Raw Dents. A scheduling conflict with Katsaounis prompted the band to search for a substitute to play some live dates, and asked fellow Chicagoan Matt Espy if he would bridge the gap. He agreed, and more than rose to the challenge, playing several shows with the band. The immediate chemistry between Espy and the band was too potent to ignore though, and the idea of a substitute quickly evolved into adding Espy to the recordings, and to the official lineup of the group.
The result is The Raw Dents, and the lineup isn’t the only thing that transformed. This record continues the band’s trajectory of balancing fresh syncopated rhythmic ideas with bold, and sometimes abrasive sonic textures, but the sound has evolved into a total juxtapositions between harmony and noise, chaos and groove, bombast and space, beauty and disaster. Though the emphasis is on songwriting here, the players are free to subvert. The hooks are designed more like events than simple repeating motifs, harmony and dissonance are embraced with equal measure.
And one more thing has expanded. In honor of the new additions to the band, the band has de-truncated their name. They are now known as: DEAD RIDER.
