LOZEN

I have not seen Lozen in years since Ronny's. That place was so nasty it borders on embarrassing and now it's closed. I recall getting their poster so as to not forget that I saw this band. They did not have CDs or vinyl or even cassettes for sale.....yes some bands are selling cassettes but with a download code. But this one time at Ronny's I wanted to remember that I liked Lozen especially for this last song. So I took a poster with me and took pictures. I could not form an opinion on the rest of their set at the time. The name Lozen just stuck to my head for no reason at all. Why would two girls call their band like that? The name must have a special significance. The question kept the band in mind as well as the last song in their set. To my embarrassment it was someone I should have known of all along. The Apache warrior/medicine woman Lozen that fought along side Geronimo and was so invaluable to him with his struggles with the US. Hmm, hmm, a real life badass, and it's Xena who told me on Youtube. I did not know that the first time seeing them. But the name stuck and so I came around. This second time  is when I tripped over this wall of knowledge while finally getting to know and like this awesome band....named after her.
  I got the CD Enemies Against Power and so here I am exploring that. There was more the id wanted..the shirt...the vinyl. Lozen were here this time to support Para Vida, their latest, but I could not get it. I was drooling like Homer. I don't even remember knowing this walking into Ultra Lounge. I barely caught Sentinels play their last two songs. I recall liking their last one. You barely have enough to walk in the door and so you kinda don't want to like anything, 'cause you're too broke. But you gotta get something. Its been a long time, and many bands. I recall the unavoidable familiarity with them, Lozen, like I can speak spanish to them, daughters of fellow paisas. At Ronny's the audience was thin. I took pictures of them after and in showing them I recall Justine the drummer remarking on the visible arm-pit sweat caught in the pics. I was too shy to speak to them this time at Ultra. I stuck to catching the pictures during the performance.
  Hearing them now on CD I feel introduced in part to a world of music I normally avoid. Lets say thats metal and it was the first identity I saw in this two person band, but not the only one. I don't think it's exclusively the female voice that draws me. How do I say this...I find in Metal precision skill with the guitar but in the service of juvenile testosterone. Or at least there's always something turning me off from what sounds lean in that direction. With Lozen I saw the metal skills in the service of wiser minds, even in it's aggressive delivery. It has...an old coolness. What normally turns me off about metal was mysteriously not present with this band. Well, for right now, this interest only focuses on them rather than on what else after.
  My admiration for them begins with Enemies Against Power. Many of the songs are long. Their shortest is around 4 minutes, but in giving them a chance you will not feel it. In Unspeakable Truths you see how well they separate the choppy guitars with space enough to admire the view from the mountain you are climbing, the sound riffs you are riding. A friend of mine in admiring the Chicago skyline  once told me it's because there is space between the buildings. The same here. There are spaces of time between the massive structures of sound. And these structures build to a crash before you realize. In no rush, the slow to mid-tempo cool walks prep you for the slow-motion coolness of Erieichda! When you hear these songs you will not feel the length. Their pace commands attention. Its...butchy enough for metal heads to like....yet not enough to alienate the PJ Harvey fan in you. There I go speaking PJ when I promised myself not to. At least I did not use my shoegaze crayon. You're into it the whole time and I wish I had lyrics but their voices come out clearly enough for me to follow. I'm glad I don't have to pronounce that song here, just try to spell it right.

  They are Hozoji Matheson-Margullis on guitar and Justine Maria Valdez on drums. They are from the state of Washington. Their label is Silent Queef. The CD they are actually promoting is Para Vida. I could always download that from their bandcamp site. Right now, I'm on Enemies and it's brilliant.