The Well Death And Consolation

Death And Consolation is without a doubt a weighty album title. And, Austin, TX trio The Well is among the heaviest heavy psych bands in existence. So when Riding Easy says that there’s even more darkness and intensity to the band’s third album than previous efforts, take heed. It’s a deep sea diving bell of enveloping heaviness and longing.

While The Well continue to walk an intriguing line between authentic early ’70s doom / heavy psych and frayed weirdness of dark folk—especially with their haunting unison male / female vocals—this new album also adds the stark vibe of post-punk acts like Joy Division and early The Cure.There’s also much less jamming, the songs are tight and concise. And, was it mentioned, heavy? The band tuned down a full step to C-standard tuning for this album, which gives the proceedings its monstrous sound.

Sonically,the album picks up where the band—guitarist / vocalist Ian Graham, bassist / vocalist Lisa Alley, and drummer Jason Sullivan—left off with their widely heralded 2016 Pagan Science. The band once again recorded with longtime producer / engineer Chico Jones at Estuary Studio in 2018, who has turned the knobs for all three of their albums—Jones engineered the band’s debut album Samsara with producer Mark Deutrom (Melvins, Sunn O)))) in 2013. Samsara, released late September 2014, was ranked the #1 debut album of 2014 by The Obelisk and Pagan Science among the Best of 2016 from the Doom Charts collective. Likewise, the band’s intense—some even say “possessed”—live performances have earned them featured slots at Austin’s Levitation Fest, as well as tours with Kadavar, All Them Witches, Black Tusk and more.