Touting themselves as "low-budget horror rock," the recently formed Warish is a fuzzed-out, punkish noise-rock outfit whose stoned riffs and heavy distortion are set to make waves in their Southern California homeland and beyond. The band's guitarist-vocalist Riley Hawk — pro skater, Motörhead fan extraordinaire, Petyr guitarist and, yes, Tony's son — is the inevitable headline-maker, but the group's music stands on its own merits.
Warish, which also includes drummer Bruce McDonnell and bassist Alex Bassaj, have teamed up with Revolver to premiere their new two-song EP, featuring the tracks "Runnin' Scared" and "Their Disguise." It's a raucous adventure steeped in heavy psych callbacks but with enough crashing heft and dark surf-rock-inflected segues to avoid cheesy nostalgia traps.
"We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show," Hawk explains of the band's origins. "A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish." The fruits of their labor give listeners exactly that: a fun and slightly spooky ride that calls up multifarious influences, from the Butthole Surfers to the Misfits. The song titles hint at Warish's preoccupation with horror, reflected also in the EP's apocalyptic cover art.
Warish's Runnin' Scared EP will be available for download and on 7-inch vinyl tomorrow, May 31st, via Riding Easy Records. You can pre-order your copy now via the label's official site.
