Photo by Will McCarthy

trauma ray’s core songwriting duo of Uriel Avila and Jonathan Perez became kindred creatives over shared Slowdive worship, and it’s telling that they gravitate to alter of all sounds Duster, Deftones, Hum, and Nothing, too. Like many of the younger bands who are rediscovering shoegaze in a heavier lens, they’re drawn toward the drainpool of life’s weight while using big riffed walls to swallow and dissipate them into the air. On “Bishop,” the lead single from the Fort Worth band’s long-awaited debut album, Chameleon, they — alongside bassist Darren Baun, drummer Nicholas Bobotas, and guitarist Coleman Pruitt — aim to be just as divine as their shoegaze gods, even as sin hangs heavily over their heads. The collision between heaven and hell makes for a catastrophic showdown between light purity and a deep dark decay in their sound. As the atmosphere swirls thunderously in its climax, it could be that they’re ultimately drawn toward the inevitable flames…

trauma ray’s Chameleon will be released October 25th on Dais Records.