Rising noise-rock band headlines the DNA Lounge
Popular Atlanta-based noise-rock outfit Whores. brings music from their long-awaited album War to the DNA Lounge Saturday night.
Founded in Atlanta by guitarist/singer Christian Lembach in 2010, Whores. announced itself to the world with the corrosive, sludgy assault of their Ruiner EP the following year that nodded heavily to the Amphetamine Reptile school of sonic fury. The band released several EPs and singles before unleashing their crushing full-length debut Gold. in 2016, their first recording with bassist Casey Maxwell.
The brutal album showcased Lembach's gift for pulverizing riffs and comical song titles -- "I See You Are Also Wearing a Black T-shirt" and "I Have a Prepared Statement" are just two examples -- and ended up on multiple best-of lists. Unfortunately, the band saw setbacks after a couple of injuries to Lemback -- including a fall onstage in Toronto that damaged his knee badly enough to require surgery -- slowed their activity and forced the guitarist to perform seated.
Whores. returned to the road and released a couple of new recordings since Lembach's injury and recovery -- an original song for the Amphetamine Reptile Bash 17 compilation and a cover of the AC/DC song "Have a Drink on Me" recorded with Bill Kelliher of fellow Atlanta band Mastodon. The latter tune was the first to feature new drummer Douglas Jennings Barrett, who joined the band in 2021. It wasn't until last year that rumblings of a highly anticipated second full-length effort surfaced with the new tune "Imposter Syndrome."
The band returned to San Francisco last November, playing a blistering set in support of Bay Area experimental punk legends Oxbow. April saw the release of the new salvo from Whores. entitled War. Another visceral blast of tuneful noise-rock, the latest effort equals the intensity and fury of the band's best work. For this show at the DNA Lounge Saturday night, Whores. will be joined by Brooklyn drum-and-bass duo Venus Twins and Oakland solo industrial/noise project Reptoid.
Whores. with Venus Twins and Reptoid
Saturday, June 8, 7 p.m. $22-$28
DNA Lounge