Wombo

Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Wombo are an indie rock trio whose sound is atmospheric and intelligent while tackling material that makes room for noisy experimentalism, idiosyncratic pop, and prog-like complexity. Unlike most guitar/bass/drum bands, Wombo often uses the bass to carry their melodies, while the guitar adds texture, color, and abstraction, exploring the musical space as they navigate tunes that are ambitious and engaging. They started out at their most bold on the 2017 EP Staring at Trees, with elements of prog, psychedelia, and noise rock prominent in the mix, and their approach showed greater focus on 2020′s Blossomlooksdownuponus. With 2022′s Fairy Rust, the group added just enough precision and polish to let their pop influences shine with their more challenging ideas intact.
Wombo was formed in 2016 by lead singer and bassist Sydney Chadwick and guitarist Cameron Lowe. Chadwick and Lowe had previously been members of an angular punk-pop band called the Debauchees, and when that band called it quits, they recruited drummer Joel Taylor and made their live debut in August 2016. The band was making a name for themselves in the Louisville independent music community when they released their first recordings, a seven-song EP titled Staring at Trees that they self-released on cassette in July 2017. They continued to hone their eclectic approach with live work, headlining small shows and touring with the Nude Party, White Denim, and Dehd, and after striking a deal with the independent Fire Talk label, they brought out their first full-length album, Blossomlooksdownuponus. The band had extensive touring planned in support of the LP, but like many musicians, they were grounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they used their abundant free time to write and arrange fresh material. Wombo offered a progress report of their musical adventures with a four-song EP, Keesh Mountain, initially released on cassette in May 2021, With a set of songs that often touched on myth, imagination, and the unconscious, Wombo set to work on their second album, recorded in eight days by Nick Roeder and mixed by Dave Vettraino. The finished product, Fairy Rust, was issued by Fire Talk in July 2022. ~ Mark Deming