Oakland, CA’s RAYS are comprised of four Bay-area music veterans; Stanley Martinez, Eva Hannan, Troy Hewitt & Alexa Pantalone whose current & past musical projects include local bands-of-note like The World, Life Stinks, Violent Change, & Dadfag. RAYS recently released their debut LP, and now they are unveiling a new video and kicking off a tour in support (see Post Trash debut)…
On RAYS’ debut album on Trouble In Mind Records, the band spins eleven tunes of wiry, urgent post-punk, one foot planted firmly in the nihilistic apathy of 70 & 80’s punk (Wire, Electric Eels, Pere Ubu, Eno, Television The Fall), Australian punk past & present (UV Race, Terry, Victims, Babeez), and the addictive strum of 80’s & 90’s New Zealand/Flying Nun pop. The album rages with a desperate fire, speaking to the absurdities of everyday life, but with a wry smile. The band knows that shit is fucked but the members of RAYS seem intent on finding humor within the world’s everyday desperation, because sometimes that’s the only way to stay sane. Throughout it all, RAYS’ debut never feels angry, Recorded by Bay-area stalwart Kelley Stoltz & mastered by Australian tone-genius Mikey Young (Total Control/Eddy Current Suppression Ring) RAYS is a joyous album packed with weird new-wave swirls and sugar-sticky hooks.
Rays on tour!
6/3 – Chicago IL @ Do Division Fest – Empty Bottle Stage w/ The Ponys & more
6/4 – Chicago IL @ Archer Ballroom w/ Negative Scanner, Bruised, Porno Glows, Medium Ugly
6/5 – Milwaukee WI @ Ground Zero w/ Black Thumb, Slow Walker, Sex Scenes, Medium Ugly
6/6 – Minneapolis MN @ Seward cafe w/ Ozone 120s, Gem Jones, Royal Brat
6/7 – Omaha NE @ Brothers Lounge w/ David Nance Group and Billy Liebermann
6/8 – Kansas City MO @ Revolution records w/ Warm Bodies and Nightcrawlers
6/9 – Saint Louis MO @ ask a punk w/ Warm Bodies, Bad Example, the Wad
6/10 – Springfield IL @ Black Sheep Cafe (Dumb Fest 5) w/ Perverts Again, Dumspell, The Stranger, Warm Bodies & more
6/11 – Louisville KY @ the Green Room w/ Electric Drywall Band
6/12 – Indianapolis @ State Street Pub w/ Raw Image, Clue, Dove
6/13 – Bloomington IN @ Magnetic South
6/14 – Nashville TN
6/15 – Atlanta GA @ 529 w/ Nag, Cashmere, the Mall
6/16 – Chapel Hill NC @ the Cave w/ Golden Pelicans and Natural Causes
6/17 – Richmond VA @ Love Jail w/ Golden Pelicans, Locker Room, Fat Spirit
6/18 – Baltimore MD @ Ottobar
6/19 – Philadelphia @ Everybody Hit’s w/ Honey Radar
6/20 – Brooklyn NY @ Alphaville w/ Home Blitz, Honey Radar, Rat Columns
6/21- Brooklyn NY @ Silent Barn w/ Sediment Club, Olivia Neutron John and new band
6/22 – Cleveland OH @ Now That’s Class w/ Trophy Knife and Christmas Pets
6/23 – Detroit MI @ UFO factory w/ Erik Nervous
6/4 – Chicago IL @ Archer Ballroom w/ Negative Scanner, Bruised, Porno Glows, Medium Ugly
6/5 – Milwaukee WI @ Ground Zero w/ Black Thumb, Slow Walker, Sex Scenes, Medium Ugly
6/6 – Minneapolis MN @ Seward cafe w/ Ozone 120s, Gem Jones, Royal Brat
6/7 – Omaha NE @ Brothers Lounge w/ David Nance Group and Billy Liebermann
6/8 – Kansas City MO @ Revolution records w/ Warm Bodies and Nightcrawlers
6/9 – Saint Louis MO @ ask a punk w/ Warm Bodies, Bad Example, the Wad
6/10 – Springfield IL @ Black Sheep Cafe (Dumb Fest 5) w/ Perverts Again, Dumspell, The Stranger, Warm Bodies & more
6/11 – Louisville KY @ the Green Room w/ Electric Drywall Band
6/12 – Indianapolis @ State Street Pub w/ Raw Image, Clue, Dove
6/13 – Bloomington IN @ Magnetic South
6/14 – Nashville TN
6/15 – Atlanta GA @ 529 w/ Nag, Cashmere, the Mall
6/16 – Chapel Hill NC @ the Cave w/ Golden Pelicans and Natural Causes
6/17 – Richmond VA @ Love Jail w/ Golden Pelicans, Locker Room, Fat Spirit
6/18 – Baltimore MD @ Ottobar
6/19 – Philadelphia @ Everybody Hit’s w/ Honey Radar
6/20 – Brooklyn NY @ Alphaville w/ Home Blitz, Honey Radar, Rat Columns
6/21- Brooklyn NY @ Silent Barn w/ Sediment Club, Olivia Neutron John and new band
6/22 – Cleveland OH @ Now That’s Class w/ Trophy Knife and Christmas Pets
6/23 – Detroit MI @ UFO factory w/ Erik Nervous
Praise for Rays
“The group’s dystopian jangle has a lot in common with the first Modern Lovers LP, ’80s Flying Nun and the current crop of Australian bands that circle around Mikey Young, in fact Young mastered RAYS’ self-titled debut album which was produced by mid-fi maestro Kelley Stoltz.” – Brooklyn Vegan
“Coming straight out of Oakland, Rays trades in a sound that would be at home in the post-punk UK heyday while also incorporating elements from Aussie punk.” – Post Trash
“…the four-piece’s wiry, urgent post-punk has formed part of a quiet obsession as we’ve followed them through social media and Soundcloud demos. So when we heard that Chicago’s Trouble in Mind records (Ultimate Painting, Chook Race, Dick Diver), were releasing their debut album on March 31, well, our palms got a little clammy.” – Noisey
For more information on Rays, please contact Grandstand Media:
Chris Hnat / chrish@grandstandhq.com / 503.803.5331
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