The music of Oakland-based outfit Monster Block Party talent Sister Crayon is an eclectic marriage of intensity and influences – and unabashedly so. Originally from Sacramento, their sound is saturated with trip-hop beats, soaring operatic vocals, distorted guitars and sonic textures that allow you to drift into the waves of the music. Previously performing under the name Silent and Clemintine, the band now consists of lead vocalist Terra Lopez and Dani Fernandez playing backing tracks. Sister Crayon was the result of a daring sound change for Lopez, “I didn’t want to be shy anymore and I wanted to have a name that was bolder and a completely different alter ego.”
Their debut album Bellow is the perfect example of how the group can create a deep intimacy between artist and audience. Lopez explains, “When I think of someone bellowing, I just see a sad, really powerful thing coming out of someone. Years of an exhausting type of feeling.” Recorded at the famous Hangar Studios in Sacramento, the poetic and mythological lyrics on Bellow have a way of relating to a wide array of people in a number of hopeless circumstances. “[Almost] all of the lyrics are mini-conversations to people [who] I could never really tell [things] face-to-face,” Lopez explains, “so the song’s going to be what I really want to tell you, though I may never tell you this was written for you.”
Sister Crayon spent last fall recording their EP Cynic released earlier this year in April. Like its predecessor, the five-track EP is a confessional piece, bringing personal topics to light for both members. “For me, writing is a form of therapy, because I can’t really afford it, to be honest. There are so many unresolved things, just in life in general, that I’m still trying to process. And the only way to really feel comfortable or okay about it is by singing every night. If we have a tough night or tough day beforehand, I’ll look forward to playing a show because it’s a huge form of some kind of release. And I know for me, if I don’t play a show, I start — if there’s too much of a time period in-between shows, I don’t feel okay; I don’t feel normal. Something’s missing.”
The EP was finished over the course of a weekend and during the last day of recording, Lopez, Fernandez and their producer Wes Jones wrote and recorded the song “Meager Leavings” in one sitting. Using an experimental session with vintage synths and a variety of drum machines, both Lopez and Fernandez felt they had discovered the sound they were looking for all along. With the release of Cynic, Sister Crayon have begun writing new material for their second full-length, set to be released in late 2013. Don’t miss Sister Crayon at Monster Block Party in Nashville this Saturday, October 26th. Secure your spot to the spooktacular.
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