Lower Dens

Lower Dens is a Baltimore, United States indie pop and indie rock group formed in 2009 and led by Jana Hunter. The band also uses post-punk, dream pop, shoegaze and alternative elements in its sound, with songs built around fuzzed guitars, bass-heavy figures, insistent drums and Hunter’s distinctive voice.

History

Hunter forms the group as a full-time band after earlier solo work. The original line-up spends its early period rehearsing in attics and basements before recording and touring. Lower Dens’ debut album, Twin-Hand Movement, is recorded by Chris Freeland, mixed by Chris Coady and mastered by Sarah Register. It is issued on Gnomonsong.

The band later releases Nootropics on Ribbon Music. Hunter describes the album title as a reference to memory-enhancing drugs and links the record to an interest in transhumanism and the use of technology to extend human capacities. The album also features keyboards more prominently, adding a human-digital texture to the group’s sound.

Line-up and touring

At different points the band includes guitarist William Adams, bassist Geoffrey Graham, drummer Nate Nelson and keyboardist Carter Tanton alongside Hunter. Nelson has played with Mouthus and Crazy Dreams Band, while Tanton has also performed with Marissa Nadler and Drug Rug and has released solo material. The band also plays with Abram Sanders in an earlier line-up. Lower Dens tours extensively after the debut, sharing bills with Bear in Heaven, the Walkmen, Beach House and Deerhunter, and plays around 200 shows over a 12-month period.

Albums and themes

Twin-Hand Movement presents eleven songs and is described through tracks such as “Blue & Silver”, “Plastic & Powder” and “Hospice Gates”. Nootropics is the second part of a planned four-album cycle. Its songs “Alphabet”, “Brains” and “Propagation” focus on human history, technology, artificial intelligence and procreation. Other tracks include “Nova Anthem”, “Lion in Winter, Pt. 1” and “In the End Is the Beginning”, with the album’s arrangements emphasising texture, timbre and layered guitar sound.