In the past couple of months, I've read King Woman's music described as "doom folk," "drone," and "doom metal." Lead by vocalist Kristina Esfandiari, the Bay Area-based quartet are probably a little bit of all those things.
Recently issued by The Flenser, Doubt is a four-song EP that floats along at a slow burning pace, buoyed by Esfandiari's trancelike vocals.
Where Esfandiari's former band, Whirr, employed shoegaze-styled atmospherics in their sonic attack, the guys in King Woman are a bit more nuanced in their approach.
There's an almost cinematic quality to the songs on Doubt. Perhaps something noir, or an Alejandro Jodorowsky flick. Either way, songs like "Candescent Soul" evoke that kind of visual response. The songs don't just start after the prior one ends, they slowly reveal themselves, developing much like the plot of a movie would.
The way Esfandiari appears in and out of the instrumentation also adds an evocative quality to Doubt that stays with you long after the fourth cut ends.
If this is how King Woman handle an EP, I can't wait to see what they cook up for a full-length.
Get It
- The Flenser (12")
- Bandcamp (mp3)
