April 1, 2021 | 0 Comments

WARREN DUNES – GET WELL SOON is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!

It hasn’t been very long so hopefully you still remember the Warren Dunes single of theirs I worked last fall – Seattle’s sweethearts are back!! The two tracks from that single are included on this album as well, although one of them (“Cool Mom”) is actually resurrected in new form, with an added rap verse by Tacoma’s Chris Blount! As you may remember from last time: this band is so great. It’s tropicalia- or even reggae-influenced indie rock, uplifting carefree stuff with a real original spirit. At points it’s almost surfy lady-fronted pop a la Best Coast; at other times its world-rhythms-influenced mathy rock reminds me of a band like MuteMath; their infectious joy (and the fact that the band contains a gleefully happy romantic couple) is even reminiscent of Matt and Kim. You’re gonna love it!! I’m personally particularly impressed that band leader Julia Massey plays two keyboards at once – one with each hand, positioned on opposite sides of her body – while singing. You’ll also catch the vibe that this album is pretty specifically about these times we’re going through, with themes of civil unrest and social justice woven deeply into its fabric (without being so preachy as to sacrifice these songs being absolute bops). The album title isn’t a coincidence. Also fyi, this band is available for interviews if you’d like to have them call in to talk to you! Just hit me up and I’ll connect you! KEXP is already on board (including featuring them on a recent Sound & Vision podcast!), as are BTRToday and Flood Magazine. What are you waiting for?!

WARREN DUNES

GET WELL SOON

Big Wawa Records

Gold pants, red hair, and a Kevin Durant jersey are the first things that catch your eye at a Warren Dunes show. You might compare the Seattle power trio on stage to what it may look like if the summer camp counselors started a band, and wonder if maybe you weren’t at a rock show. Then lead singer, Julia Massey, begins to thank everyone in the crowd for coming, and each person starts looking around because they could have sworn she was talking directly to them. The band starts to play and you notice that Massey is spread-eagle between two keyboards, brothers Jared and Dominic Cortese are all smiles in anticipation of what’s to come, and an arresting crystalline voice begins to trumpet above a palette of tropicalia-infused art rock. Your problems and worries melt away, people are dancing, some are crying, there are neon palm trees on the stage, and for the next hour you feel like you are under the warm sun on a tropical post modern beach somewhere far away. The world is ok.

On Get Well Soon, Warren Dunes’ debut LP, Julia, Jared, and Dominic want to bottle up that experience from their live shows, and do their part in the healing process. “We named the album Get Well Soon because we wanted this record to be like a Hallmark card to everyone who lived through 2020,” says guitarist (and Massey’s husband) Jared Cortese. Drummer Dominic (and Jared’s brother) adds, “we all just lived through some crazy shit, and we wrote an album that we hope acknowledges all we’ve been through, and helps people move forward.” Creating a soundtrack that drives you back to the present moment is one of Massey’s central goals, who has been cultivating this technique ever since an early event with death led her to the path of songwriting. After losing her father to cancer at fifteen, Massey developed a way of making sense out of chaos. “When I lost my Dad the only things that really made a difference were comforting words from friends and family, and music.”

Get Well Soon slides seamlessly through anthemic choruses, introspective ballads, and meditative chants that follow an arc of danceable beats and grooves you can sink your teeth into. On “Quit Takin A Side”, Massey implores, “listen to the feelings in between every single thought floating in your head/hear what is there instead.” On “Be Good”, one of the record’s more pertinent tracks, Massey asks, “why would you be good to someone who’s bad to you/to somebody whose job it is to be good to you?” but leaves the answer open. This offering of contemplative lyrics that require self-reflection on the part of the audience pervades the record, and creates a conversation between the listener and the band, eloquently avoiding the pitfalls of tackling sensitive subjects head on. This is Massey’s superpower.

Brothers Jared and Dominic Cortese spent their youth running through the shifting sands of Warren Dunes State Park in Southwest Michigan. Drawn together by their shared love of music, Massey and the Cortese brothers decided to form a true family band, and the name came easy. With a reputation for bringing their audience to tears and guaranteed hugs after a performance, not being in the same room with their fans has been burdensome for Warren Dunes. Get Well Soon, which includes the band’s 2020 single “Fishbowl” (#18 on NACC’s Singles chart and KEXP’s Song of the Day), is the band’s offering of love, hope, and healing for Dunesfolk of the past, present, and future.

Based on the belief that we can all be #smallbutmighty, Warren Dunes donates proceeds from live performances to a variety of charitable organizations. For more information, please visit their Beneficiaries page.