Coastal Wives EP Traditions: Love at First Listen

By: Dawn Raymond

Denver's Coastal Wives released their debut EP Traditions recently, and are already scheduled for a UMS performance this summer.

Coastal Wives is an indie blues rock band based out of Denver, CO consisting of Forest Knauff, Logan Bishop, Austin Perkins, and Kyle Misencik. Their name comes from a time when Forest and Logan were into "surf sound" bands like The Babies, Beach Fossils, and Real Estate, and the two initially wanted to create music in that vein. But their music had other plans, and now borrows more from bands like The Black Keys and Radiohead instead. The name Coastal Wives, however, stuck.

Denver's Coastal Wives.

Denver's Coastal Wives.

Forest and Logan wanted to create a band as an outlet for their songwriting, and so together, they engaged in some healthy competition, trying to outdo each other in the songwriting department. As you might imagine, this caused them to hone their skills quite nicely. Soon, they converged their talents to create music together. As Logan said, "Coastal Wives was us really biting the bullet and saying we are better together than on our own".  

After joining forces, Coastal Wives released their Traditions EP just last month. It consists of 4 songs- a total quality over quantity proposition for the listener. You will find this group striving to evolve musically and instrumentally, but also lyrically on the EP. The writing is an integral part of this collaboration, with the intention to create cathartic, "real" music that stems from an unflinching reflection of life, for better or worse. This is the perfect release for commitment-phobes, as the entire EP is short enough to try on for size, but more than enough to be completely immersed in, and it's strikingly easy on the ears. It's a kind of "love at first listen", which might be because the vocals are reminiscent of another band and another time, or it might be Coastal Wives’ heartfelt lyrics and tightly knit instrumental execution. Whatever it is, it works.

Coastal Wives have a number of Denver shows this summer, including a UMS appearance. You can check out Traditions on the band’s website, and keep up with their shows on Facebook. Go give them a listen!

-Dawn

All photos, videos, and embedded tracks per the artists featured and those credited.