Brazenly raw emotion and headbanging psychedelia overflow in the dynamic sound of Exceptional Failures. The PDX two piece, made up of singer/guitarist Corey Distler and drummer Dambo, shatter expected limitations of a duo with heavy riffs and fiery, unpredictable solo breaks. Distler’s poignant lyrics, often drenched in the darkness or spiritual worth of humankind, are delivered with heart-wrenching intensity while Dambo’s commanding drum power propels them through their explorative arrangements. Officially formed for a show on New Year’s Eve 2022, the duo emerged from the wreckage of an experimental 4-piece outfit. Distler adopted a unique style, seamlessly transitioning between bass, rhythm and lead parts. Dambo also crafted a new drum approach, favoring frequent fills, solos and drum breaks. Their dedication to this stripped-down instrumentation allowed for Distler’s inspired songwriting, honed in his past project Dead Men Talking, to flourish. In turn, Dambo’s experimental, off-the-wall audio/visual project, The High Five, primed the group for their ambitious DIY music and video concepts.

Shaped by an earnest punch in the face, LA rock trio Paradise Vultures have hip-thrust the scene with a humble swagger and slow-burn reflection.  Helmed by Tommy Senter (lead vox/bass) the band has gone through a few iterations since 2017 but finally settled in as a familial three-piece in 2022.    Not trying to defy convention, Paradise Vultures still manage to shift their devious sonic current by convection.  While filled to the brim with seductive self-awareness that often meets muscular-but-never-entirely-cocky riffage, they grab you by the throat only to then serenade.  Thematically, Paradise Vultures run the same gamut of emotion as any artist would growing up in this city: love, loss, grief, and existential crisis.  Though, it can be a lot more fun to be subsumed under the simpler blanket of sex drugs & daddy issues.  With influences ranging from Queens of the Stone Age, ABBA, Nick Cave and Pink Floyd, the band lean into comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable.  Their debut full-length “Born to Lose” was written in the lead up to, and immediate aftermath of the passing of Senter’s aunt. So, candid heartbreak reigns over the lyrical candor and resounding cynicism.  Senter’s prowling bass lines give moody ballast to a batch of rock songs sounding occasionally theatrical, sometimes brutish, one part ramshackle fun house, and two parts impassioned grit between pearly teeth.  Often-shirtless drummer Matty Barreca is the dynamic backbone of this sensitive beast with pocket deeper than the Mariana Trench. Following rowdy performances around LA (including a sold-out Viper Room), the release of a grisly new music video for “Love is a Cancer” and an album release, Paradise Vultures circle and land together, scavenging the best bits from the still-meaty remains of moody desert rock.