Never Ever (EP)
Encyclopedia
Never Ever is the debut EP
by the New York City
rock
band Weep
, released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go Recordings and distributed by Projekt Records
.
had performed in the gothic rock
acts Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica
from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer
on vocals. Over the next several years he continued to write music, while also working as a writer and voice actor
on the animated television series The Venture Bros.
beginning in 2004. In 2008 he was approached by keyboard
player Alex Dziena with the idea of starting a new band to perform songs Hammer had written. Dziena recruited bassist Fred Macaraeg and drummer Bill Kovalcik for the project, and the group began rehearsing. Hammer played guitar and sang, a departure from his previous acts which had featured operatic female vocals. He was initially unsure of his vocal abilities, but took on the duty despite this. Never Ever was produced
and mastered
by Hammer and released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go, his animation company with Venture Bros. co-writer Christopher McCulloch
, and distributed by his former label Projekt Records
.
, shoegazing
, gothic rock
, and New Wave
acts such as My Bloody Valentine, The Sisters of Mercy
, Cocteau Twins
, The Cure
, and Modern English
in the songs. He praised Kovalcik's drum sound and Hammer's vocals, describing the latter as "gravelly", "ragged", "wistful", "robotic", and "detached", drawing a comparison to Daniel Ash
. Jack Shear of Liarsociety gave the EP four and a half out of five stars, noting the distinction between Weep and Hammer's past projects: "Whereas Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica both relied upon layers of sound as the backdrop for operatic female vocals, Weep focuses on a driving combination of gothic rock and shoegaze sensibilities and features Hammer’s own reverberating, understated vocals. Never Ever shows the influence of 80s post-punk, but has enough subtle embellishments to make this more than a retread." Jared Weiss of View from Heaven remarked that the "dark tone and fuzzy sound" of the music worked well with Hammer's vocals, and named "Lay There and Drown" and "Su Promesa" as highlights of the EP.
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
by the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Weep
Weep (band)
Weep is an American rock band from New York City whose music combines elements of Ethereal Wave, gothic rock, shoegazing, post-punk, and synthpop...
, released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go Recordings and distributed by Projekt Records
Projekt Records
This is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...
.
Background
Prior to forming Weep, Eric "Doc" HammerDoc Hammer
Eric A. "Doc" Hammer is an American musician, actor, film and television writer, voice actor, and painter. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer...
had performed in the gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
acts Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica
Mors Syphilitica
Mors Syphilitica is a Gothic rock/Ethereal band formed in 1995 in New York City by Lisa Hammer and Eric Hammer after the breakup of Requiem in White. Their music combines often-surreal lyrics with unusual instruments such as the mandolin and banjo, as well more conventional instruments such as the...
from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer
Lisa Hammer
Lisa Hammer is a filmmaker, actress, composer and singer and is the sister of director James Merendino...
on vocals. Over the next several years he continued to write music, while also working as a writer and voice actor
Voice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
on the animated television series The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros.
The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series that premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on February 16, 2003. The series mixes action and comedy together while it chronicles the adventures of the Venture family: well-meaning but incompetent teenagers Hank and Dean Venture; their...
beginning in 2004. In 2008 he was approached by keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player Alex Dziena with the idea of starting a new band to perform songs Hammer had written. Dziena recruited bassist Fred Macaraeg and drummer Bill Kovalcik for the project, and the group began rehearsing. Hammer played guitar and sang, a departure from his previous acts which had featured operatic female vocals. He was initially unsure of his vocal abilities, but took on the duty despite this. Never Ever was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and mastered
Audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
by Hammer and released in 2008 through Astro-Base Go, his animation company with Venture Bros. co-writer Christopher McCulloch
Christopher McCulloch
Christopher McCulloch , also known by the pseudonym Jackson Publick, is an American comic book and television writer, storyboard artist, and voice actor known for his work on several Tick properties and for the animated television series The Venture Bros. He authored the comic book miniseries The...
, and distributed by his former label Projekt Records
Projekt Records
This is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...
.
Critical reception
Critical response to Never Ever was generally positive. Less Lee Moore of Popshifter remarked that fans of Hammer's work on The Venture Bros. "[would] be wrong to pretend to like Never Ever simply because Doc Hammer has a terrific sense of humor. Those fans will probably be quite surprised to find they like it because it's actually a good album." He noted the influence of post-punkPost-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
, gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
, and New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
acts such as My Bloody Valentine, The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
, Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...
, The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, and Modern English
Modern English (band)
Modern English are an English rock band best remembered for their songs "I Melt with You", "Hands Across the Sea", and "Ink and Paper". The group disbanded for a period in 1991, but later recorded in 1995 and 2002 with new members...
in the songs. He praised Kovalcik's drum sound and Hammer's vocals, describing the latter as "gravelly", "ragged", "wistful", "robotic", and "detached", drawing a comparison to Daniel Ash
Daniel Ash
Daniel Gaston Ash is the guitarist for Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, Love and Rockets, and solo projects.-Life and work:After going to concerts in his teenage years, Ash made a decision to be on a stage in some way...
. Jack Shear of Liarsociety gave the EP four and a half out of five stars, noting the distinction between Weep and Hammer's past projects: "Whereas Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica both relied upon layers of sound as the backdrop for operatic female vocals, Weep focuses on a driving combination of gothic rock and shoegaze sensibilities and features Hammer’s own reverberating, understated vocals. Never Ever shows the influence of 80s post-punk, but has enough subtle embellishments to make this more than a retread." Jared Weiss of View from Heaven remarked that the "dark tone and fuzzy sound" of the music worked well with Hammer's vocals, and named "Lay There and Drown" and "Su Promesa" as highlights of the EP.
Track listing
Personnel
- Doc HammerDoc HammerEric A. "Doc" Hammer is an American musician, actor, film and television writer, voice actor, and painter. He performed in the gothic rock bands Requiem in White from 1985 to 1995 and Mors Syphilitica from 1995 to 2002, both with his then-wife Lisa Hammer...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Fred Macaraeg – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Alex Dziena – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s - Bill Kovalcik – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
External links
- Never Ever at Projekt RecordsProjekt RecordsThis is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York-based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ambient, ethereal, darkwave, shoegaze, dream-pop, and dark cabaret created by...