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In March, Sonic Graffiti’s Drew Giordano gave CL a taste of his band’s new LP, Loner.
“Evil” was an epic, 11-minute sneak peek into an album Giordano, 26, and crew (bassist Chris Cardon and drummer Trevor Mustoe) recorded in between his uncle’s metal workshop and St. Pete’s infamous Roser House.
Now you can listen to every sweaty minute of Loner in all its glory (and watch the clip for "Party Just With You" above).
“We recorded it this last fall in two weeks between touring, it feels really good to put out such new material and give it away to the people. It should be the first of many records we put out this year,” Giordano wrote in an email.
The year is about to get a big bump as Sonic Graffiti gets ready to open for famed goth-punk outfit The Damned at The State Theatre on May 13.
Interview: Dave Vanian talks The Damned’s new album, motorcycles and more
“We've been listening to the Damned since we were teenagers, feels very surreal,” he said. “We are very, very lucky.”
Let’s hope The Damned is listening to Sonic Graffiti at State Theatre, too.
Soapbox Soliloquy’s Jasmine Deja and Johnny Mile & the Kilometers’ Gino Capone contributed synth and piano to Loner, and there are duets with Broom Closet’s Odessa Conner (“Party Just With You”) and Pleasures’ Katherine Kelly (“Be My Enemy”). There are even trumpet parts — ripped from a home movie — played by Giordano’s grandfather. As promised in our March interview with the band, Loner does not stick to one sound.
“Rock and roll is the idea that you can play music exactly how you are, rock and roll is a bastard and you can mix it up with all kinds of music," Giordano said at the time. "[The record] features a wide variety of sounds and songs that don't fit into any trend or genre. We pushed our rock and roll to include old time rockabilly, soul, funk, reggae, noise, jazz, punk and all sorts of psychedelic madness."
Boy does it ever.
Have a look at Loner’s front and back artwork and then stream the damn thing below. Call your local record store about possibly getting a copy one day, or just follow the band on Facebook to stay in the loop. You could always buy them a drink at State Theatre on May 13, too.
Name-your-price downloads are happening via Bandcamp, and more information on the show is available via local.cltampa.com.
This article appears in May 11-18, 2017.