#dronen rocks

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Dronen: 284 Days EP

Dronen Never Sleeps 

Album: 284 Days EP  Artist: Dronen Label: Self-released US Release Date: 2015-02-03 UK Release Date: 2015-02-03

Southern California band Dronen brings choice cuts of meat to the table with their new EP, 284 Days. Essentially, you’re gonna get so much from this EP if you have a soft spot for the proposition of early Radiohead having a love child with Neil Young at his grungiest. Heck, final song “Lights Out” kinda sounds a bit like “Hey Hey My My (Into the Black)”. Ergo, while there’s nothing terribly groundbreaking here, those who miss Thom Yorke’s wails and moans against, you know, actual guitars plugged in, are set to really gain something monumental from this release. For an EP, it is well constructed and has a sense of “togetherness” that many short albums lack – it really feels like Dronen has structured its sound and done a bang up job of it.

Each of these five songs could easily make its way to a playlist, but the thing that is encouraging about many of them is that they’re not afraid to jam out. Three of the five tracks eclipse five minutes, and nothing is shorter than four-and-a-half minutes. So there’s epicness on this EP. That kind of inability to rush thing really works in Dronen’s favour because they do have the riffage to plow things forward. And, man, for an indie rock release in 2015, 284 Days is pretty darn heavy in sound. So, again, the best descriptor of this is one of “meatiness”. While the EP doesn’t feel wholly original, which is a liability, the songs are generally good enough for those who simply want to take a nostalgic trip back to the days when Radiohead hadn’t discovered the laptop yet. This is straight forward, straight ahead material, and should swiftly become a favourite for those who simply love guitar rock.

Rating: 7 outta 10

[dronenrocks]

Dronen - 284 days

Dronen  284 Days self-released; 2014 

3.6 out of 5 

By Ted Rogen

Dronen is a three-piece band from California made up of Daniel Olivas (vocals, guitar), Victor Aguilar (bass) and Carlos Chevez (drums). They recently released their second effort entitled 284 Days, which tips its hat to early ‘90s alternative music while simultaneously creating their own sound.

One of the first things I noticed was how big their sound was despite very few overdubs. The band is able to create a dynamic, energy-filled journey through the five songs by incorporating subtle effects and inventive changes. I was impressed by some of the sounds Olivas was able to get out of his guitar. It was obvious to me that he took some time getting the right tone. You hear everything from high sustained leads, to crunchy rhythms and even some seriously tweaked manipulative effects like chorus, delay and reverb.

The band kicks things off with “The Loss Of All Things Real.” It starts off with jagged strategically placed distorted guitar chords in which you hear the reverb and rails slowly dissipate as Olivas sings, “when i lost my head i was only mad reservations in love the conservation of luck so i wrote my friend and it's what he said that you are never alone you are never alone.”

About a minute in the band unleashes and I was reminded of the same guitar tone that Billy Corgan got on Siamese Dream. Olivas’ vocals are a mix between a nasally angst and a cathartic release. His voice often comes to boiling points where are you can hear him pushing it as hard as he can.

“Analog Pathogens (Digital Remnants)” starts with impressive tom work and reverb laced guitars. It’s a tumbling verse that starts to sizzle once the distorted power chords are introduced. The band continues to impress with the last two tracks “Tonight” and “Lights Out.” “Lights Out” is arguably the most infectious song out of the five.

284 Days isn’t reinventing the wheel but it does deliver well-written songs from a band who knows how to deliver them. Recommended.

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Listen To Dronen's New EP, '284 Days'

"The band will self-released 284 Days tomorrow; it’s a cool collection of loud riffs and uncomfortably affecting vocals—there’s muscular moments in it that remind me of Songs For The Deaf-era Queens of the Stone Age, and others that oddly recall Devil and God-era Brand New. It works."

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Dronen '284 Days' (album stream)

Get your first listen of Dronen’s ‘284 Days’ EP right now via Exclaim! Album drops tomorrow but you can order your copy today at http://dronen.bandcamp.com

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284 Days CDs just came in today! So we made a stop motion video showing them off. Pre-order yours at http://dronen.bandcamp.com - The official release date is February 3rd, 2015 and quantities are super limited.

[dronenrocks]

Southern California Grunge-Punk revivalists Dronen are an example of a cash strapped monster of rock lying in the weeds on a massive catalogue of instant classics ready to unsheathe its fiery collection of sharpened chords, and drive them deep into the heart of a fractured music machine.

That sort of shock to the industry happened once when Nirvana proved to be a crossover mammoth, so it would be fitting for an outfit like Dronen, who honed their craft for the sculpting the ear-worm ragetune, while consuming a strict diet of Cobain and company, Smashing Pumpkins, and possibly even a few mix CDs infused with Radiohead.

With the pop sensibilities of the best Pop-Rock songsmiths of the 90s and frontman Daniel Olivas' versatile vocals that range from subdued and soothing to a shredded take on those of Craig Nicholls (The Vines), Dronen brings us “Lights Out”, the lead single to the outfit’s forthcoming 284 Days EP, which is scheduled to drop in February.

“I wrote this song entirely in my head while sitting in a car,” Olivas said via press release. “I couldn’t wait to get home and figure out the chords! We’ve always loved the raw energy of playing ‘Lights Out’ live, and I really think we captured a lot of that energy in the recording, which isn’t always easy.”

Stream “Lights Out” below and stay tuned for more on Dronen.

[dronenrocks]

John Ponce de Leon

When they first started, Dronen amassed a seemingly never-ending catalog of new music, but most of those songs never got past the demo stage and their trusty 4-track cassette recorder. One day, the southern California alt rockers finally had enough cash to enter the studio, and they knocked out four songs in four hours, creating their offiical debut EP.

As time has passed, the band’s presence continues to grow — and their fan base right along with it — all leading up to the release of their latest EP, ‘284 Days.’ Set to hit the streets in February, today (Jan. 16) Diffuser is beyond thrilled to give you a taste of what to expect with the brand new track, ‘Lights Out.’ Check it out in the audio player below.

“I wrote this song entirely in my head while sitting in a car,” frontman Daniel Olivas tells us. “I couldn’t wait to get home and figure out the chords! We’ve always loved the raw energy of playing ‘Lights Out’ live, and I really think we captured a lot of that energy in the recording, which isn’t always easy.”

He goes on, “It’s a song about those times when you start getting a little too big for your britches and then life gives you a good slap in the face to cut you back down to size.”

Drummer Carlos Chevez adds, “This is one of my favorites to play live, which says a lot because we’re every bit a ‘live’ band. Consciousness of what I’m playing goes out the window about halfway through and I end up on a huge cathartic high at the last note.

And as bassist Victor Aguilar eloquently puts it: “This is a song built on a killer groove. My upper lip curls every time we play it.”

Make sure to stay tuned for the latest on everything happening in Dronen’s world, and keep your eyes peeled for their upcoming EP, ’284 Days,’ set for release next month. In the meantime, check out their official website here, and enjoy the trailer for the new disc below:

Read More: Dronen, 'Lights Out' - Exclusive Premiere

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Ghettoblaster recently caught up with Dronen’s Victor Aguilar to discuss some 2014 releases he was pleased with. This is what he told us.

Top 10 (in no particular order):

La Dispute // Rooms of The House Lyrically and musically wonderful. The evolution of La Dispute continues and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Braid // No Coast 16 years since their last release and Braid has made a record that shows that they have truly grown, but not forgotten who they were.

The Jazz June // After The Earthquake It’s pretty awesome when you can bring a refreshing new sound to the scene when you’ve been out of it for over a decade.

Trioscapes // Digital Dream Sequence This is just ridiculous. The musicianship on this album is unreal. Jazz Fusion? That’s a thing? I’m on board.

Spoon // They Want My Soul Mr. Consistency. Spoon never fails to disappoint. Some may not like that Spoon sounds like Spoon album after album but for me, this is a good thing.

Mogwai // Rave Tapes Another solid effort to add to the already stunning discography of Scotland’s finest post-rockers.

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra // Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light on Everything You’ll be hard pressed to find a band that can blend so many sounds together as well as SMZ.

Circa Survive // Descensus Every album has this band being completely themselves but still managing to be different and push the envelope of their sound. Fantastic album, start to finish.

United Nations // The Next Four Years Chaos at its finest. Geoff Rickly and crew come through huge on this album.

Pianos Become The Teeth // Keep You I find myself having new reasons to truly enjoy this album with every listen.

(Visit Dronen here: http://www.dronenrocks.com/.)