We broke the weather (USA) - Restart Game @ Prog Stoner/Psych Rock
Two years after releasing their self-titled debut album, Boston “garage prog” five-piece we broke the weather sit in a place far above what they imagined when they began jamming in a basement as strangers with no musical agenda in 2018. Critics and fans alike have praised the band for their bold fusion of disparate genres and influences - progressive rock, jazz fusion, psych rock, math rock, stoner rock, doom metal, and beyond - and while few seem to know how to actually categorize them, they agree that wbtw are onto something special.
we broke the weather features two multi-instrumentalists - Nick Cusworth and Scott Wood - who share vocal duties, play sax, and key/synth and guitar, respectively. Taken with drummer and third vocalist Andrew Clark, the band finds every opportunity to insert bits of jazz, math-y trickiness, and general skronk into a rock framework. Lead guitarist Kevin DiTroia injects the group with a necessary amount of raw energy to balance out what could easily become something stuffy and fussy, and rounding things out is bassist/guitarist/synth wizard Steve Muscari to keep things weird.
The result is an eclectic set of sounds that continues to evolve, spanning the classic progressive rock of King Crimson, Yes, and Rush, contemporary prog of The Dear Hunter and Thank You Scientist, modern stoner, psych, and garage from the likes of Elder, King Gizzard, and Ty Segall, contemporary jazz fusion of Portico Quartet, The Physics House Band, and Colin Stetson, math rock, post-rock, and so much more.
Now signed to Argonauta Records, we broke the weather are ready to take things to the next level with their sophomore album Restart Game. Musically, the album distills the most interesting aspects of their self-titled and pushes them in new directions. Lead single “Marionette” is a relentless head-banger that traipses through sax and guitar-led mathy prog riffs, flamenco-infused psychedelic landscapes, and cosmically heavy stoner grooves. Elsewhere, album opener “Vestige” is epic in every meaning of the word, as it takes the listener on a voyage through dark and twisting chords and melodies, a miasma of synth and djent-leaning guitars, and resolves on a triumphant fuzzed out bass riff and ripping guitar solo. Meanwhile, second single “Heavens Were a Bell” and album centerpiece “Sevenseas” continue the band’s affinity for and exploration of spacey synth-led themes and heavy emotion, with the latter serving as a meditation on wringing any shred of hope in a time when the impacts of climate change are being felt on a daily basis.
Ultimately, Restart Game is an album about living with fears, anxieties, and doubts that can consume us but hopefully not define us. In a time when the world is erupting in flames, a global pandemic has yet to be fully contained, democracies across the world are backsliding further into embracing fascism, authoritarianism, and ethno-nationalism, and America is struggling to keep its entire foundation from crumbling into a sinkhole, this band and this music have been both a life-raft and a megaphone, therapy and an act of rebellion. But at the end of the day, they’re just a group of 5 guys with wives, kids, and jobs who are most likely yelling into the void and are just trying to have some fun while doing so. So come join them down in the hole. It's nice.
Praise for we broke the weather (self-titled):
"Probably the best prog debut of 2022." - Progrocks.gr (#9 on Best Albums of 2022)
“It channels all of my favorite heavier sides of progressive rock (think King Crimson) with modern jazz sensibilities and edge (think Colin Stetson) while also harkening to more scintillating sounds drawn from indie rock acts like The Dear Hunter. Enough name dropping for you? If you enjoy any of these bands, and just forward thinking, well made rock, go listen to this album immediately.” - Heavy Blog Is Heavy (Top 50 Albums of 2022)
"The variety that’s on display here, both tonally and compositionally, makes for a true progressive experience in every sense of the word." - Everything Is Noise
"We Broke The Weather are the kind of band that come along rarely. Their passion drips from every single note on display, and it’s clear that they are true admirers of the music that they have been inspired by. It’s also clear that they are gallant enough to experiment further and push the envelope well beyond what the average band might." - Veil of Sound
"The blending of influences coated with some more "classically"-minded jazz rock channeled through the brass, reeds, drum, and bass makes for a superior product that forgives any semblance of its forbearers. Besides, catchy hooks both vocal and instrumental will get you bopping your head and singing along to the record long after you've unplugged your headphones. And if that's not what good music is all about, I don't know what is. 4.5/5"
Read more
All articles →
