New Orleans three-piece Woozy uses a myriad of genre labels to categorize their full-length debut Blistered—out October 16 via the combined efforts of Community Records and Exploding In Sound. Bandcamp tags reference rock, alternative, shoegaze, post-punk, and even something called glitter daddy sparkle rock, but pinning down their sound is like pinning your prom date’s boutonniere on the C train—shaky and dangerous.
The songs on Blistered are dynamic and often include multiple melodies, while Kara Stafford’s and John St. Cyr’s vocals blend like a Fauvist’s palette knife. The songs do not contain bass, but the jangly guitar interplay and Ian Paine-Jesam’s virtuoso drumming distract enough that it wasn’t until my fifth listen that I came across this revelation.
The opener, “Venom”, stings like a snakebite and is one of the album’s strongest tracks. Across the song’s four minutes, the band shifts seamlessly from cymbal-crashing punk loudness to quiet, finger-picking folk inspired harmonies. “Clouds Rush In” is another standout, in which Stafford and St. Cyr beg to be re-admitted to the lonely heart’s club over soft, melodic guitar before the intensity of their feelings are fueled into feedback. At the coda Stafford and St. Cyr repeat, “I’m not broken/ He’s just holding/ My hands/ Hostage.” Brutal.
Their latest single, “Painted White”, released last week, features the pessimistic lyrics, “Success is a lie/ Six years with nothing to show.” Woozy might start changing their tune soon, though. The band is on an US extensive tour in support of Blistered and it won’t be long before word of their talents spread.
You can stream Blistered below, and scroll on for a complete list of Woozy tour dates.
Woozy tour dates
October
12 Purchase, NYat at SUNY Purchase
13 Pittsburgh, PA at The People’s Warehouse
14 Akron, OH at Fool Mansion
15 Kalamazoo, MI at Bell’s Brewery
16 Grand Rapids, MI
17 Chicago, IL at Downstairs (at SubT)
18 Davenport, IA at Uncle Stu’s Haunted Waterpark and Slightly Less Haunted Go-Cart Track
19 Ames, IA at The Record Mill
20 Kansas City, KS at Records With Merritt
21 Carbondale, IL at The Swamp
22 Little Rock, AR
23 New Orleans, LA at Community Records Block Party
29 Tallahassee, FL at Club Downunder
31 Gainesville, FL at THE FEST
November
05 New Orleans, LA
06 Lafayette, LA at The Wild Salmon
07 Austin, TX at Hole In the Wall
08 Denver, CO at 7th Circle
09 Fort Collins, CO at Downtown Artery
10 Salt Lake City, UT at The Underground
11 Boise, ID at The Olympic Venue
12 Bellingham, WA
13 Seattle, WA
14 Portland, OR at Pound Pit
16 Eugene, OR at Blair House
17 Santa Rosa, CA at Hendley Hotel
18 San Francisco, CA at Honey Hive
19 Reno, NV at Fort Rayland
20 Stockton, CA
21 Fresno, CA at MILF Mountain
22 Monrovia, CA at Resistor Records MATINEE
22 Los Angeles, CA
23 San Deigo, CA
24 Las Vegas, NV at 11th Street
