Album review: Warish – Next To Pay
SoCal garage rockers Warish pick the grit out of their scabs and ride again on nasty second album, Next To Pay.
Words: James MacKinnon
Copies of Next To Pay should really come bearing a sticker that says, “Warning: Abrasive Material”. Every aspect of the San Diego garage rockers’ second record sounds exposed: Riley Hawk’s nasally squawk lies somewhere between a cornered fox and a belligerent seagull; the metallic guitars sound as if they’re strung with razor wire; the raw, arid production is one that Steve Albini would likely approve.
All of which is to say that Warish lean heavily into the ride-hard attitude of Riley’s skater day job and pedigree. Nothing over-thought, everything laid as bare as scraped knees on concrete. And for the most part, it works. Seeing Red and the title-track barrel along on piston-pumping rhythms, while the Nirvana-esque cover of Burn No Bridges (originally by DC emo forebears Gray Matter) wou
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Dream Demon
Scott Mercado (aka Manuok) is a vet of local bands such as Via Satellite, which he cofounded, as well as touring or recording with the Black Heart Procession, Mr. Tube & the Flying Objects, the Album Leaf, Tristeza, Ilya, and Lost Pets. Mercado has also produced acts from outside the local talent pool, including French folk-rock group Grimoon, who he met during the Black Heart Procession’s 2005 European tour. Mercado’s newest project Dream Demon pairs him with musicians from all over the left coast: Ben Heywood from L.A.’s Summer Darling, Mike Sparks and John O’Connell from Seattle’s He Whose Ox Is Gored, and Robert Cheek from By Sunlight (another Seattle group which has also featured Sparks and O’Connell). Their debut single “Hell” came out last year. “We’re releasing four EPs that’ll make up a double vinyl,” says Mercado. “Overall, the album will be mixed with ambient to hard rock music, ranging from The For Carnation to Can, to Tortoise, to S