The Well

The Well, Bridge Farmers, Spiritual Wives
Holy Mountain, Saturday, Jan. 11
Over the past year, doom/psych power trio the Well evolved from promising newcomer to essential cog in the local scene. After a triumphant set opening for American Sharks last week, the band ran its own victory lap at Holy Mountain. Guitarist Ian Graham plays riffs so sweet they're sensual, while charismatic bassist Lisa Alley rolls thundering grooves like a storm. "Mortal Bones" and "Eternal Well" aren't all deep kisses, though – the band knows when to abandon romance and just fuck hard. The pair's dual vocals give its songs extra spice, but the riffs rule the melodies, and the attack thrusts them home. "Fuckin' sweet," declared a crowd member after the Well finished sealing its fate as the next ATX act to watch. Most of its gig partners proved themselves worthy contenders as well. Preceding young duo Carl Sagan's Skate Shoes vacillated between anthemic grunge and SST-inspired punk & roll, including a Minutemen cover. Spiritual Wives boast refugees from ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Tia Carrera, and Pack of Wolves. Rather than a psychedelic black metal mindmeld, however, the quartet pays homage to Fugazi, Quicksand, and Jawbox, gleefully reviving Nineties noise rock. Psych trio Bridge Farmers emphasized frenzied jamming, and a good thing, too, as its vocal presence was weak. Sadly, neither band had the goods to hold the considerable crowd the Well left behind. - The Austin Chronicle

“The Well is our Metal Band of the Year for 2013!” - Sonic Vault

It’s hard to know where to start with Seven, the debut 7” single by Austin, Texas-based trio The Well. The band self-released the two-track outing, featuring the songs “Act II” and “Trespass,” at the end of September in a limited marble-vinyl edition of 300, and coupled the record with a variety of artworks in what they called a “rip-off series,” with hand-drawn sketches from Casey Cork and bassist/vocalist Lisa Alley reinterpreting album art from Electric Wizard, Wicked Lady (the one I got, hence the flapper above), Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer to suit their own purposes, as well as some with an original design. Musically, I suppose The Well do pretty much the same thing. Having formed in 2010, the band are pretty clearly getting their bearings in terms of their development, but they already have a firm grip on their aesthetic, taking new (nouveau?) American laidbackitude and melding it with simple grooving riffs, obscure but catchy lyrics and an echoing sense of open space. Seven doesn’t really find The Well coming out of the gate with anything that’s never been done before, but it works no less well for them in 2012 than it did for Lords of the North in 2008, and the oft-concurrent dual vocals of Alley and guitarist Ian Graham are an immediate distinguishing factor on “Act II,” which rolls in casual-like on a stonerly bounce from drummer Jason Sullivan and nod-ready bassline from Alley. Graham offers crunch in his rhythm tone and classic fuzz for the bluesy lead he takes near the halfway point, and when the song breaks following the next verse into a post-Vitus noisefest, the effect is jarring in probably the best way it could be. Alley’s bass and Sullivan’s drums keep going while the guitar drops out and Graham and Alley – whose voices already prove impeccably matched – take the fore and make a viable hook out of the lines “Twisting ropes and needle pokes can’t harm me/Pious minds can’t understand what charms me,” and lock into wah-driven shuffle for what seems like it will be the instrumental outro until they pull back for one last run through the chorus, well timed and crisply executed on the live-sounding recording, helmed by Jason Morales of Austin heavy psych improvisators Tia Carrera.
Such moves make it easy to get into both songs on Seven, accessible in a totally non-commercialized but still traditional sense of pop songwriting. “Trespass,” which is more explicitly led by Graham’s guitar, shorter by just over a full minute and overall thicker in its chug, is no less catchy. Graham opens with a wash of Hendrix wah and is joined in time by Alley and Sullivan for another solid mid-paced groover, Sullivan’s fills telegraphing the transitions but not detracting from them. After the intro, which takes up 50 seconds of the total 4:43, “Trespass” follows a much simpler structure than did “Act II,” but the vocals tap into that same lysergic drawl that made the first Witch album so irresistible and a double-layered solo from Sullivan provides a point of interest leading into the build of the bridge, even if the song is clearly a B-side. As they did with “Act II,” they pull back to the central groove just when it seems like they’ve gone too far out to recover, and they end Seven with a return to the chorus, giving a final nod to the potential in their craft before the guitar clicks off and the release is over. The Well have reportedly already returned to the studio to record a full-length, this time with Mark Deutrom (who played bass in the Melvins during their Atlantic years), and their commitment to aligning themselves to producers with experience in heavy rock speaks to a professional mindset as much as any last chorus speaks to a quality of craft, so while Seven is the first time The Well have made their presence known, it seems unlikely it will be the last. All the better. Both “Act II” and “Trespass” give an impression of a trio taking off on a creative trip. Their efficiency on a musical level and their penchant for strong hooks can only serve them well as they continue to develop, and whatever they do next, I’ll be interested to hear what other tricks they might have up their collective sleeve in terms of changing up their approach or adding diversity to their sound or even just establishing a flow over the course of a debut LP. For now, though, Seven makes a welcome introduction. - The Obelisk

Austin, Texas three-piece The Well recently unleashed their debut 7”—the aptly titled ‘Seven’—which is ten and-a-half minutes of garage-rockin’ doom coated in a saccharine sheen. While the band’s sound isn’t particularly polished, the catchy, shared vocal melodies of singer/guitarist Ian Graham and singer/bassist Lisa Alley lend an overall “pop” sound to the tunes. Even though the band isn’t blatantly wearing their influences on their collective sleeves, it comes as no surprise that they list Sonic Youth and The Raveonettes as artists that they appreciate along with many of the usual suspects such as Black Sabbath, Pentagram, and Blue Cheer.
Both tracks of the single, “Act II” and “Trespass”, are up-tempo jams that, at times, roar with garage-punk intensity. The main riff of “Act II” features an impressive, growling distortion that is the dominant force of the track until about midway through where the rhythm section of Alley and drummer Jason Sullivan really shine by keeping the song grounded amidst Graham’s feedback soaked, freak-out soloing. “Trespass” utilizes some heavy wah pedal abuse and reigns in the distorted roar a bit giving the bass playing of Alley more of a spotlight. Despite being the shortest song of the single, “Trespass” offers a little more variety throughout the track and really gives the individual players the space they need to stand out.
The Well’s mixture of stoner metal, doom, and garage rock is nothing new, but the shared boy/girl vocals give this band a unique, if somewhat, “poppy” twist. The two tracks of ‘Seven’ are both infectious and rock-solid. While their sound is light years away from the sludge-pop stylings of Torche or the T. Rex influenced doom of Winters, fans of these two bands might immediately take to The Well. It’ll be interesting to see how this young band continues to develop and where they’ll take their brand of doom on future release. While it looks like The Well has sold out of the ‘Seven’ 7” (which included some cool, “imposter” album sleeves), you can still check them out and get a digital copy on their Bandcamp page. - Temple of Perdition

With Tia Carrera's Jason Morales producing, the Well crank out earthy stoner grime best suited for blacklit suburban basements. Both "Act II" and "Trespass" begin with fat-knuckle riffs that deftly set the stage for the rough and tumble extrapolation that follows. The droll dual vocals of guitarist Ian Graham and bassist Lisa Alley add an air of apocalyptic, party-down distinction to the local trio's Birmingham-loving bleakness. - Austin Chronicle

THE WELL
STONER/DOOM/PSYCH
USA

The official biography from this nice doom/psych trio from Austin,Texas:
Ian's reclusive and despondent, Lisa wears red lipstick, and Jason is the canary in the coal mine.
Hehe... that's simple and also enough what you have to know...it's all about to music.

They have released their 2 track debut 7 on vinyl...i get one exemplar for promotion, me and my girlfriend are absolutely thrilled from this extremely fucked up sound and the dirty atmosphere of this two song's.
Lisa is not a second Celine Dion but he is a part of a great and unbelivable doom/psych sound...

I think in near future we can read more about THE WELL and their upcooming material...hopefuly we can see this heel of a band soon live and rare...

BUY THIS STUFF BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP AND SO FUCKING GOOD FOR YOU....BUY IT OR SANTA CLAUS IS SHITING IN YOUR CHIMNEY!!!!

10 from 10 Stonerpoints
- Stonerhead

THOUGHTS:

"As I started to listen to the big meaty riffs and cool retro fuzzy feel of Austin-based band The Well, one thing that stood out was the unique vocal layering of male/female vocals. The two sing in unison in a rather slow and lethargic fashion amongst wah-wah doom riffs and a slow steady tempo. With all of the key ingredients and industry luminaries in place, The Well are primed to make their upcoming debut one to watch out for in the year 2013. Great stuff!" - Heavy Planet

If you were to drop a rock down into the Well of Metal to get a sounding on this band, the resounding echoes would be those of the founders of the genre with their roots in Psychedelic and Blues Rock: Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, and a splash of Deep Purple. However, the Well draws equal inspiration from the thicker, heavier draughts of Doom and Stoner Metal, and reverberations of Electric Wizard and Sleep sweeten the discord. Although these echoes are apparent throughout the Well’s work, they serve as an astute homage to the predecessors of the genre rather than a regurgitation. The Well may have drunk deeply of the waters it drew from, but rather than drowning in the heavily populated depths, it has transformed the raw element into a sound uniquely its own. Graham’s lyrics speak of love, possession, loss … the supernatural, and the inexplicable. The vocal interplay between Graham and Alley is seductive, the guitar driving, the bass hooks heavy, and the drums grounding. The Well resonates with a talent and a sound beyond its years. - Lindsey Flatt

The Well, who surprised us with their Stoner Metal bad-assery last night at Beerland, Texas.

We'll post their next show on www.SonicVaultAustin.com asap, but 'till then you can stream this MP3 and whet your appetite: http://bit.ly/SRkoMQ
- Sonic Vault Austin

I've heard that The Well that come out with the Austin has kerdisei.Their pieces move in heavy rock forms with strong doom-stoner elements, supplemented with brave amounts psychedelia, fuzzarista riffs and all this accompanied by the vocals quite well of Lisa Alley and Ian Graham.
Check them! (translated by Google Translate) - Welcome To The Void

@TheWellBand @spiderhouse The Well. Holy hell. The Spider House Bar near the University of Texas campus was the place. The early evening on Saturday, May 12, 2012, was the time. The Well was responsible for the most disturbingly beautiful groove-laden doom I’d heard in… well, I’ve really never heard anything quite like this.

From outside in the parking lot – The Impaler and his crew arrived just after The Well took the stage, so they were ramping up their first tune as we were exiting our vehicle – it sounded a lot like Black Sabbath, but with more. More verve. More groove. The bass was leading the charge in a fashion that definitely owed a nod or three to Geezer Butler… but it was – how do I put this without throwing any confusion into things? – danceable. Not in a ‘wow, this band is mixing doom with dance music!’ kind of way. The Well is NOT mixing doom with dance music. But The Well, well, they lay down the groove. The bass was leading the charge, as I stated above, and the drums were right there in lockstep. Tight. Earth-moving. But kinda booty-shaking at the same time. And the guitar was heavy but not punishingly so. Sabbathian, psychedelic, fuzzy in that classic 1970s fashion. Floating atop the din was a voice that was both beautifully melodic and filled with a kind-of ‘mess with me and I just might kill you’ conviction. Holy hell. We had to get inside to check this out.
And check it out we did. The Well is a power trio (and those who know me are well aware of my predilection for power trios) comprised of Lisa Alley (bass/lead vocals), Ian Graham (guitar/vocals), and Jason Sullivan (drums). They hail from right here in Austin. There’s not much information about them on the interwebs yet, but apparently The Well share a collective interest in partying, tarot, and Buddhism – which may or may not be a piss-take, and I’m not sure which would be more bad-ass: if it was or if it wasn’t. I sincerely hope that they put up a full-fledged website under their own control sometime soon. I do know that they recently wrapped up recording sessions for a couple of songs that are due to be released on 7” vinyl – and hopefully digital download – sometime this summer.
The Impaler’s verdict: The Well kicked my ass. And I liked it.
Photos of The Well live at Spider House Bar in Austin, Texas, on May 12, 2012, by Timothy ‘The Impaler’ Schwader © theimpalerspeaks @impalerspeaks - The Impaler Speaks