Rock, Unraveling Gowns

Gowns have an odd pedigree. Erika Anderson did time in noise-folk collective Amps for Christ, and Ezra Buchla in L.A.'s spastic punkers The Mae Shi. Buchla's father also happens to be synthesizer pioneer Don Buchla, giving Ezra an ancestral imperative for sonic manipulation. With a rotating cast of bandmates, the duo assembles captivating, textured noise-folk that's equal parts slowcore introspection and doom-tinged drone. Unnerving atmospheres, acoustic instruments, and sparse percussion frame half-whispered, bleak-as-hell confessions and narcotic ramblings. Anderson's nervous, lilting cadences are often the centerpiece, her smoldering voice slowly unhinged by the violence just beneath the surface.