Biography
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Years Active
2010 – present (14 years)
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Founded In
Maine, United States
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Members
- Milan McAlevey
- Nina Donghia
The Mt. Desert Island recording sessions that form the core of Coke Weed's upcoming 3rd LP, Back To Soft, see the psych rock quintet definitively moving past the vestiges of their stripped down sound that marked their earlier recordings, and toward a leaner electrified sound. It was a case of form following content as the band found their stride in the hypnotic grooves that would carry the lyrical themes of Back To Soft: Ten songs dealing with the allure of American Bohemia viewed through a haze of a longing for 1990's New York City. Back To Soft is set for release on July 23rd 2013, and Bullett Magazine premiered the 60's-inspired, drone pop video for the new album track "Sunseekers". The track is also streaming on the band's Soundcloud. The band also announced a handful of upcoming east coast live dates for the summer, as well as two shows with The Walkmen's Pete Matthew Bauer as well. The full list of dates is below.
The new album is an inevitable progression for the Bar Harbor, Maine based band. Renowned for their dual girl and boy lead singers, twinning electric guitars and mesmerizing rhythm section, Coke Weed always had an early fascination with the post-hippie acid fall-out more so than the summer of love. There's a distinct menace lurking underneath their music as well as the breathless, enigmatic voice of Nina D. In fact, Coke Weed has always aligned itself with the rebel streak that took root with the Stones, flowered on the West Coast with the Airplane, flirted with squares through the pop moves of Lee Hazlewood and Francoise Hardy, and eventually bottomed out in New York City with Royal Trux and the bummer spirit of ‘93.
Coke Weed is lead by songwriter Milan McAlevey, who in 1999 formed the Lil’ Fighters with Walter Martin, later of Walkmen fame. After recording several albums at the Walkmen’s original Marcata Recording Studio in Harlem, he left the Fighters and New York for the wilds of Maine. In the years spent bouncing between Maine and New York, Milan teamed up with chanteuse Nina D. and the pair arrived in Bar Harbor, a quintessential New England island tourist town and an unlikely place to start a band. First Nina and Milan found a kindred spirit in guitarist Caleb Davis and asked him to join. Drummer Peter Cuffari and bassist Zach Soares quickly followed suit to complete the quintet.
The process of making Back To Soft was a direct reaction to the off-the-cuff feel of the previous album. Nine months in the making and every overdub lovingly labored over, Coke Weed’s new album Back To Soft is rock music that holds a mirror to 2013 and refracts its moment through a stoned remembrance of American undergrounds past.
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