Russian Baths
“What’s Your Basement”
Penance
I’m a sucker for a great noise band, and Russian Baths are a great noise band. Comprised of Luke Koz (guitar, vox), Jess Rees (guitar, keys, vox) and joined by Evan Gill Smith (bass) and Jeff Widner (drums), Russian Baths have all that it takes to make great noise; riffs, vocals, and a killer rhythm section. Add that creepy Lydia Lunch-type atmosphere and Big Black/Jesus and Mary Chain reverb, and you got a great sound. Oh, and the subject matter of “What’s Your Basement” pushes the creepiness a little farther.
(T)he band shared, “There was a man in Amstetten who hid a family with his daughter in a basement for 24 years. He said he always knew it wasn’t right, but allowed it to become a normal occurrence. Rationalization is very problematic.”
This is the great fact of noise genre: it forces you to look at the darkest recesses of the human soul without looking away. This is great music on all fronts.