Chestnut transports us to a different world with ‘The Winter We Were Vampires Meets The Original Wolf Man’

Alternative rock has so much to offer, taking on different personas and characters to create vivid stories that transport us to a new world that directly leads into the imagination of the artist. With that said, ‘The Winter We Were Vampires Meets The Original Wolf Man’ gives an insight to the natural progression of Chestnut, departing from previous releases and really showing what they are capable of from both a musical sense and narrative one.

Forming back in 2015, Chestnut is a Florid, Los Angeles based experimental sound duo consisting of husband and wife Christina Cruz and Daniel Watkins.

Giving Queens of the Stone Age vibes, the first track ‘The Winter We Were Vampires’  has a vintage novelty in the radio-like announcement at the very beginning of the track. This almost transports the listener to a 1940s-inspired Halloween-like town filled with the distinct creatures that go bump in the night, perfectly creating a clear-cut listening experience perfect for All Hollow’s Eve.

According to the band’s Anghami, ‘…In late October 2019, we were in Portland for the Unknown Film Festival. While in town we went to a Halloween dance party at The World Famous Kenton Club. The two DJs were almost exclusively spinning old 45s of spooky novelty songs from the 50s and 60s. It was as impressive as it was influential.’

‘The Winter We Were Vampires’ is an example of the band’s harder edges, adding masculine echo-y vocals to harness more anger-fueled emotion to give a greater impact to the track and perfectly complements the booming drums and monotonous guitar riffs. The melody that is provided in ‘The Winter We Were Vampires’ perfectly captivates the listener alongside the chorus that proves to be a real insight to the band’s repertoire.

Chestnut creates a melody that perfectly captivates with these two tracks, giving the listener through different styled bridges that are divaricated by softer elements with harder extremes.

With that said, the second track ‘The Original Wolf Man,’ to opens with a vintage edge, the classical-like music sounds like something out of classic Hollywood but soon takes a hit in pace with booming drums and slow guitar riffs.

‘The Original Wolf Man’ takes on the band’s softer extremes, slowing down entirely in pace compared to the previous track. Dominated by an ominous female voice that perfectly accompanies the booming drums and decelerated guitar riffs, ‘The Original Wolf Man’ adds a level of gloom and haunting presence with the accompaniment of classic horror characters.

‘The Winter We Were Vampires Meets The Original Wolf Man’ paints a pristine picture into the world Chestnut has created. Adding vintage elements with classical horror both tracks paint a real picture into the world that Chestnut has created, eerie with the build-up to Halloween makes it an enticing listen and would fit right in at the Kenton Club.

Ana Joy King

@anajoyking

Image: The Winter We Were Vampires Meets The Original Wolf Man’ Official EP Cover