Wampire: “Trains”

Portland, Oregon’s Wampire released their debut full-length Curiosity earlier this week, and it features a cover so strangely unsettling, that it’s almost impossible to look away.

It features bandleaders Eric Phipps and Rocky Tinder posing for the classic Olan Mills-style family shot, but the bad-trip color treatment they give it (complete with glowing eyes), is something that’ll stick with you. The closeness of the pair may have something to do with Phipps and Tinder going back a ways, like back to middle school days. They’ve been jamming together since 2001. The Wampire lineup has shifted, but the pair remain the core of the group.

They’ve slugged it out at day jobs, house parties and local shows. But the work paid off, and Wampire was scooped up by imprint Polyvinyl (home to groups like Of Montreal, Japandroids, and Deerhoof to name a few). Wampire enlisted the help of Unknown Mortal Orchestra‘s Jake Portrait to produce their new record. The music within is pretty darn interesting. Wampire jumps genres like jackrabbits, from the New Wave-noir of single “The Hearse” to the sweet, lo-fi, soul grind of today’s song of the day “Trains.”

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