The sneer of the guitar rhythms, the gritty vocal delivery and the euphoric drum kit catapults the listener into sonic escape worthy of CBGB or any local punk stage. Knowing that it’s not a live performance is only a slight retreat – “Lost Days” – exudes freedom and rips out from the confides of one’s own mind. This song is about release. “Lost Days” strikes a wonderful balance between hard-edged melodic vocals, and the frantic, anxious instrumentation release.
URL: https://www.thedamed.com/
Sounding much more like a trio or even a five-piece, The Damed is actually a duo. Los Angeles’ guitarist and vocalist Heather Hellskiss and drummer Watts Yoshizawa angle the production of this track to be a completely garage band meets seasoned professionals. I’m impressed by the levity, the bounce of the track. The percussion has a fast tempo, featuring some jerky tendencies. The guitar work is fearless and brash. It’s like a knife cutting through glass and shattering the idea of any sort of computerized hand leaving a mark on the final proof. If “Lost Days” were a painting it would most certainly look like something from abstract Russian artist, Wassily Kandisky. The music bed also gave me pause to mellow in its glow – there is something very pop-like too in the way the curves of the melodies and rhythms meet up. I suppose if you were there in the early club days of The Go-Gos or Blondie, you might feel the same.
Losing track of days, are the first words Hellskiss sings. She starts out somewhat longing. She soon belts out, heart pumping for creativity – with the last of the syllable strutting off like cursive writing. I know it’s hard…try not to panic, she continues. One other line that stood out is when she sings, think the end is near. Now, I don’t want this to be another covid19 lamenting session, but it’s definitely the world we live in. The lens The Damed are singing from (and through) is warranted and should be celebrated. This is exactly why art is so important – they put to music exactly how we’re all feeling in some way or another. Whether we admit to it or not. That pounding percussion is exhausting at times, and other times more subdued. I think those manic waves have been something experienced universally.
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/thedamedband/lost-days
“Lost Days” could also be about the internal sabbatical one takes after a breakup. You might not remember even leaving your house or you might feel as though you are in a lockdown. The world looks grayer, it feels differently. “Lost Days” has that juxtaposition and I think The Damed are hitting those emotions. They communicate to their audience that they feel the same. What a relief. What a sonic journey.
The Damed have a splash of vintage and a tsunami of originality. “Lost Days” has found its place and its audience. The end is certainly not near for this bombastic duo.
Heather Savage
